Holmes County Chamber Sets Tourism Summit for March 2026

The Carlisle Inn in Walnut Creek hosted the Holmes County Chamber & Tourism Bureau's Tourism Summit this morning, with the 90-minute gathering running from 10:30 a.m. to noon on a day when the county's broader tourism calendar is already filling fast.

Holmes County draws more than four million visitors each year, and the chamber's annual summit convenes hospitality and business stakeholders to assess where that traffic is going and how the county can grow it. The Carlisle Inn, located at 4949 Walnut Street in Walnut Creek, is a fitting backdrop: the inn overlooks local Amish farmsteads in the Genza Bottom Valley to the north and Mudd Valley to the south, placing attendees squarely inside the landscape the county markets to the world.

The summit arrives at the front of a spring events season for Holmes County. The Berlin Bake A'Bout, a community bake sales event, runs March 26 through 28, beginning just one day after today's summit. The back-to-back scheduling puts tourism professionals in the room one morning and community-driven foot traffic on Berlin's streets the next.

Looking further out, the chamber has also posted the Seed To Spoon: Food Independence Summit, set for June 17 and 18 at 5552 State Route 515 in Walnut Creek. The event is billed as "two jam-packed days of inspiring speakers, hands-on learning, and fun," with an explicit aim of reaching people new to the concept of homegrown and local food. Organizers describe the intent as giving newcomers "the encouragement and tools to take 'one more step' toward discovering the freedom that comes with homegrown and local food." Tickets are available through the Holmes County Chamber's visitor site.

The chamber's event programming has historically spread across the county's major venues. Past gatherings have convened at Der Dutchman in Walnut Creek, the Holmes County Fairgrounds at Harvest Ridge in Millersburg, Skyview Ranch, and Walnut Creek Cheese, among others. Eastern Holmes County holds the highest concentration of Amish residents and visitor activities dedicated to exploring Amish culture, and the chamber's calendar consistently reflects that geographic weight, with Walnut Creek and Berlin anchoring the bulk of public-facing events.

For visitors planning ahead, the Holmes County Chamber of Commerce & Tourism Bureau publishes the Map & Visitors Guide as its official resource for Amish Country attractions, dining, and lodging. The 2026 edition is available for download through the chamber's visitor website.