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Director reports steady recovery in occupancy tax, staffing changes and data‑driven approach to event support
Summary
The tourism director reported occupancy and revenue trends, a staffing hire and a promotion, new marketing initiatives, analytics on recent events (including low out‑of‑county attendance at a paid concert), agritourism outreach, and a ghost-tour pilot; sponsorships will be more competitive after a $100,000 cut last year.
The tourism director reported the board’s operations remain under budget for the year, with occupancy tax revenue tracking closer to last year’s levels in May and June and a year‑to‑date variance generally within 10 percent of the prior year.
On receivables the director said an outstanding accounts receivable balance (about $55,000, as shown on the balance sheet) largely reflects accruals for expenses billed after the fiscal year end and delays in state reimbursement. “That is due to accruals that we've done for expenses that we haven't yet received bills for that belong in this past year,” the director said.
The director announced a staff addition and a promotion: Destiny Burton was hired to handle administrative duties and social media support for the county’s historic sites, and Taylor was promoted to Director of Events to focus on the organization’s events. The director credited early planning for next year’s Irish Festival and said the events team is “already near ahead of where we were last year.”
The report included new marketing work: the office moved its phone system to a cloud-based provider for improved remote capability, plans to run print-plus-digital magazine placements that include trackable digital packages, and filming projects aimed at building a digital media library for promotion.
On event analytics, the director said the board is reviewing whether events deliver out‑of‑county visitation. The paid Isaac Mora concert drew roughly 200 out‑of‑town attendees, the director said, and the staff found that percentage did not justify the $20,000 total event investment. “In the end, this is a $20,000 event. And I think we had maybe 200 people from out of town, and that doesn't add up to me,” the director said. The board said future sponsorships and event funding will be more competitive and that applicants must present marketing plans and metrics demonstrating out‑of‑county draw.
The director described agritourism outreach with farms (Hunter Farm, Twisted Tea Ranch and a Montessori Farm were mentioned) to expand tourism destinations and cited a small pilot of immersive ghost‑hunting packages at multiple county sites as a successful trial that drew outside participants.
Staff also reported tightening sponsorship budgets: the sponsorship pool was cut by $100,000 last year and held flat this year, increasing competition for available funds. The director said staff will require clearer analytics and point‑based evaluations showing partner impact — including numbers on out‑of‑county attendance — before recommending grants.
No formal budget reallocations or contract awards were approved during the meeting; the board discussed trends, directed staff to tighten metrics for sponsorship awards, and asked for follow‑up analytics on recent events.
