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Tourism groups urge restoration of $6 million cut to state tourism funding, warn of economic loss
Summary
Destination marketing organizations across Washington asked senators to restore a $6 million cut to the state tourism marketing account, saying the reduction would curtail marketing, cooperative grants and rural destination support just as the state seeks to capitalize on major events and rebuild post-pandemic visitation.
Representatives from tourism bureaus, regional destination marketing organizations and the state tourism office urged the Senate Ways & Means Committee to restore a $6 million reduction to the state tourism marketing account included in the operating budget proposal.
Speakers from Visit Seattle, Visit Walla Walla, Visit Tri Cities, Visit Vancouver and many local destination marketing organizations said the Senate's proposal would shrink the state tourism office's ability to run cooperative advertising, community grants and international marketing programs. "The proposal represents a devastating $3,000,000 per year cut to tourism programming," said several local tourism leaders, who asked that the appropriation be restored to the current biennial funding level.
The nut graf: tourism witnesses argued that the state tourism office leverages modest state funds into larger private-sector and local investments that yield visitor spending, tax revenue and local jobs; they warned specific losses in event recruitment, rural destination marketing and cooperative grant programs that support small businesses and communities.
Several witnesses noted concrete returns on investment: Visit Tacoma, Visit Seattle and other organizations cited recent events and grant-funded projects that drove millions in visitor spending and local tax revenue. They urged that the state preserve baseline tourism funding while stakeholders continue work on a sustainable, industry-led funding model under separate legislation (SB 5492).
Ending: Tourism leaders asked the Senate to retain the current biennial funding level and to allow the industry-led plan to move forward without cutting back existing programs that small and rural communities rely on to attract visitors and support local economies.
