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CVB proposes $2.2 million budget, cites record $313 million tourism impact in 2023
Summary
The Pitt Greenville Convention and Visitors Authority told Greenville City Council it proposes a $2.2 million FY 2025–26 budget with a modest 3% increase, funded mainly by hotel occupancy tax and one final year of ARPA support; the authority highlighted visitor‑center upgrades, expanded marketing and sports tourism returns.
The Pitt Greenville Convention and Visitors Authority presented a proposed $2.2 million operating budget for fiscal year 2025–26 to the Greenville City Council on May 8. President and CEO Andrew Schmidt said the budget represents a 3% increase from the current year and relies primarily on the hotel/motel occupancy tax and fund balance, with the county's ARPA support ending this year.
The authority framed the budget around marketing, sports tourism and visitor services. "We are here to create experiences," Andrew Schmidt said, urging continued investment in advertising, a new visitor‑center layout and a planned partner portal to keep local hospitality listings current. Schmidt told council the organization saw a record tourism economic impact in 2023 — about $313,000,000 in spending in Greenville and Pitt County — and expects 2024 figures to be at least as strong.
Why it matters: the CVB purchases advertising and sells destination services that drive nonresident spending into food, lodging, retail and recreation sectors. That revenue reduces the share of local taxes paid by residents, supports local jobs and feeds the convention center pipeline.
Most details: the authority expects to spend roughly $270,000 on advertising (up from about $250,000 last year), invest in an extranet partner portal for business listings, expand social‑media capacity by hiring a specialist, and finish converting a facility into a dedicated visitor center with retail merchandise and a visitor experience manager. Under an existing interlocal agreement, 1% of the CVB’s total budget is passed through to the Greenville Convention Center; Schmidt said that equates to about $554,000 under the proposed budget.
Council members asked how sports tourism and events are tracked and how advertising dollars are allocated. Schmidt said sports tourism accounted for about $9,000,000 in visitor spending last fiscal year and that the CVB uses event‑level tracking software to estimate return on investment. On allocation, Schmidt said the CVB prioritizes marketing that brings nonlocal visitors into Greenville; local event promotion is considered only if the event demonstrably brings outside spend.
No formal council action was taken on the CVB budget during the meeting; the presentations were informational and part of the council’s budget review process.
