Individuals from Wood County affiliated with the Country Roads Travel Council, a ten-county regional tourism development agency, organized the bureau in 1985. This action followed the elimination of state funding for regional travel councils and the passage of a law by the West Virginia Legislature permitting cities and counties to impose a hotel occupancy tax. This law mandated that bureaus receive at least half the tax proceeds with the balance used for selected tourism projects and activities. Following the enactment of the hotel occupancy tax in this area, the local bureau was created as an independent, non-profit corporation.
