ST. CLAIRSVILLE — The COVID-19 pandemic has hampered many of the area’s summer events, but Belmont County Tourism Director Barb Ballint said her department is hosting and promoting options such as virtual tours.

“We have several virtual tours. We have a tour of the Historic National Road throughout Belmont County,” she said.

Ballint also mentioned virtual tours of the Victorian Mansion Museum in Barnesville and the Underground Railroad Museum in Flushing.

Another popular activity is “Marco Polo” sightseeing on the department’s Facebook page, with new postings each Wednesday.

“The Marco Polo’s been a big hit because what we’re just trying to do is keep our followers and our visitors engaged, so we’re just trying to give opportunities to showcase places in Belmont County,” she said. “Marco Polo we came up with by just giving a still shot of a place, an attraction or an event. We put it on (Facebook) and we say ‘Marco!’ with the picture, and the person responds with where they think it’s at, and then ‘Polo!’ following a response, and the person that guesses first the correct answer will receive a small prize from the tourism office.

“It’s getting pretty popular. We have a lot of people who look forward to that every Wednesday, seeing what’s going to happen. We’re getting a lot of hits,” she said.

Ballint said the response has been high on the tourism council’s several different social media platforms since May 18.

“On Facebook we have thousands and thousands of followers, over 12,000 followers on our Facebook page,” she said. “We have Twitter that has close to 500 followers. Instagram has over 1,000 followers,”

“Last month, in one month, we’ve had over 3,000 engagements on our Facebook page,” she said, describing people liking or clicking on a post.

Posts also include mention of local eateries, which are open and offering dine-in or carryout service, as well as what retail shops are open or when they are expected to open.

“We’re constantly getting information out to the public … we’re having to think outside the box just like everybody else during these trying times and be creative and innovative to keep people in the know about what we have to offer.”

Ballint said more information can be found at the tourism website visitbelmontcounty.com

The lack of summer events has been a blow to the public.

“Of course everyone’s disappointed. This area has a strong sense of tradition. They’re used to doing the same things. Every summer they’re used to going to their own community fair or the county fair or the Blame My Roots Fest, but events like that have been canceled,” she said.

“The county fair has not been canceled or postponed yet. We’re hoping we won’t have to receive that news, but right now just about everything through August has either been postponed or canceled,” she said. “Hopefully once we get through this, we’ll be able to enjoy those things we’re used to enjoying.”

However, camping and related outdoor activities remain an option and the public seems to be taking advantage of the opportunity.

“Our parks and our campsites in Belmont County were packed over Memorial Day weekend. We kind of expected that, because that seems to be the new trend. People are liking camping a little bit more now. They’re feeling a little more safe camping and being in the outdoors because they have that freedom to roam,” she said.