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The morning session will include members of the legislative task force who will provide an update on the legislative plan. The afternoon session will include a Rally for Success – the 2017 Grassroots Launch where you will learn how to mobilize your community to help pass this important legislation. This year we need all hands on deck and we will provide you with the tools and information you need to support this effort. Chris Ihrig, CEO of Fired-Up! Culture, will provide an exciting wrap up at the end of the session to crystallize the important messages of the day and finish the Summit on an enthusiastic and positive note.

We are pleased to announce that Roger Dow, the President and CEO of the US Travel Association will be the keynote speaker for this year’s Summit. Since 2005, Roger has led the US Travel Association and has been instrumental in transforming the organization into one of the most effective industry associations in the country.

“This year’s tourism Summit will be the most important to date!” said Christina Pivarnik, WTA Board member and Chair of the Summit Planning Committee. “We are excited to welcome Roger Dow as our keynote speaker and look forward to presenting the new WTA plan for legislation that will provide long-term funding for a sustainable statewide marketing effort. After hearing your feedback from previous Summits, we are also going to provide plenty of networking time so you can catch up with your colleagues from across the state. Please plan to join us in October!”

Please join us for an afternoon reception following the general session, where you can visit vendor tables, enjoy light hor d’oeuvres served and a no host bar, and network with your industry colleagues. Space is limited this year, so don’t wait to register! Please click here to view the full schedule and to reserve your spot.

State legislators who have voluntarily focused on finding a solution to funding a coordinated statewide tourism effort have met three times over the summer. Most recently they met in early September. They will continue their discussions into the fall with the goal of having a proposal for the 2017 legislative session.

The legislators engaged in this workgroup clearly understand the value of having a coordinated statewide tourism marketing program and are well aware of the return on investment it will deliver to local and the state economies. This is why all are adamant that the state must be engaged and allocate funding into whatever program is developed. The challenge, however, is finding the funding because of the massive budget constraints the legislature faces as a result of Supreme Court mandated orders to fund basic education and mental health services.

The first two workgroup meetings concentrated primarily on examining how other states fund tourism efforts, understanding the complex state and local lodging tax structure, past legislative proposals, possible other tax options and funding mechanisms, and tools for determining ROI. The third meeting focused on delving into the components of a legislative proposal that would be both practically and philosophically acceptable within the legislature and the tourism industry.

The general consensus of the group seems to be a conceptual proposal that is a public-private partnership, not a state run program. The industry would be responsible for implementing and managing the program and the state’s role would be focused on generating some, if not all, of the funds. The state would also be responsible for providing the basic parameters of the program through a contract with a non-profit marketing entity and for evaluating the effectiveness of the program’s ability to create jobs and returning tax dollars to the state.

The difficult part, of course, is how to fund the program. The first decision was how much would provide for an adequate program. While the request under previous legislation was for a $7.5 million program annually, after reviewing other state programs and levels of funding the general consensus of the group is that an annual target of $15 million would be necessary to be competitive and successful. How to generate the $15 million and how much of that is appropriated directly from the state and how much is generated from the industry and through what mechanism remains the challenge and is now where a majority of the group’s work will be focused.

A straight dollar appropriation from the state’s general fund is not likely given budget constraints, nor is it desired primarily because it does not create a long term mechanism that would provide stability and ensure future stream of funding.

Some potential options discussed include a phased-in approach of the state funding:

While there is much work still to be done, great strides have been made in just three meetings resulting in a general consensus on fundamental components to the proposal. The energy of the workgroup continues to be positive and the WTA staff is keeping the momentum going with now putting concepts to paper for the group to consider.