“I think tourism is in a good spot right now,” said VCB director Jenni Sopsic.
The VCB budget for 2009 is $489,600. It’s actually larger than the previous year because it includes the launch of the Montrose “branding” project, which historically has had its own budget.
  
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The VCB is funded through a hotel and restaurant tax. In 2008, the VCB collected more than $392,000, 19 percent above projected revenues, but 3 percent below what was collected in 2007. Overall, the VCB was 4 percent below budget in 2008, as reported to the city council last Thursday during a work session.
In 2008, the VCB was able to contribute an additional $66,000 to the Telluride Montrose Airline Guarantee Program. As stated in the VCB’s management agreement with the city and Montrose Chamber of Commerce, it cannot carry over funds and the $66,000 rolled over from 2007.
For 2009, the VCB was able to continue to fund special events at $20,000 and special projects at $5,000 — the same as previous years. It has also attached $80,000 to launch Montrose’s brand, “Look Deeper,” which was unveiled several weeks ago. The funding is not part of the advertising budget, but is now included in the overall budget, Sopsic said.
Several other adjustments are taking place.
“We’ve changed the focus of our marketing campaign,” Sopsic said. “We are really targeting the Front Range, capturing that drive market.”
VCB statistics show that 52.2 percent of the visitors to Montrose come from within the state.
“We found that is a market that we can continue to market to,” she said. “Increase that Colorado ‘stay-cation.’”
Looking at the 2008 restaurant and hotel tax collections, several negative months raised questions from council members.
May, June and July taxes collected for both restaurant and hotels were lower than those collected in 2007. Sopsic said this could be because gas prices were so high that people were holding off their travels. The month of August showed an increase in collections by both hotels and restaurants, but September and October fell below those collected in 2007. (See graphs)
Sopsic said she heard that fewer group visits, such as corporate travel, happened last year, which may explain why hotel taxes dropped more than $6,000 in October between 2007 and 2008. Sopsic said she couldn’t say exactly why certain months had dropped.
The VCB budget has been reviewed and approved by city council.
Contact Kati O’Hare via e-mail at katio@montrosepress.com
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