Connecticut tourism office to absorb Convention & Sports Bureau tasks after line-item cut

Connecticut’s Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) told the Appropriations Subcommittee that it will absorb many functions currently handled by the Connecticut Convention and Sports Bureau (CTCSB) if CTCSB’s funding is not continued in the next fiscal year.

DECD Deputy Commissioner Matt Pugliese told members the agency intends to maintain the work CTCSB currently performs — including issuing responses to requests for proposals and helping prepare proposals for events — by reallocating internal staff time and hiring contractors. “From a strategic sense our office would much rather do 2 things very well and support the continued momentum of bringing visitors into the state rather than doing 5 things poorly,” Anthony (DECD staff) said during the discussion.

Why it matters: tourism marketing is a major revenue driver for hotel and meals taxes, and several legislators told DECD they were concerned that cutting the line item would reduce the state’s ability to compete regionally for visitors and conventions. Senator Austin repeatedly pressed DECD staff on the reduction in marketing dollars, noting that statewide web traffic to CTvisit.com has declined after marketing budgets shrank.

What DECD described: officials said federal and one-time grant dollars (American Rescue Plan and an Economic Development Administration grant) boosted marketing dollars in prior years but have largely been spent. DECD said the governor’s proposed budget includes $4.5 million in the statewide marketing line item for the coming fiscal year; the agency described prior carry-forward and federal funds that temporarily increased that line to about $23 million for FY22–FY25. Pugliese said the department will rely on three tools to maintain services: internal staff, contractors and the state’s legislatively mandated tourism districts.

Legislators’ concerns: Senator Austin pressed the department on whether it has the staff and the return-on-investment analysis to replace CTCSB’s sales work — cold calling, trade-show representation and direct outreach to booking agents — and warned that if the state does not fund marketing at a competitive level it risks falling behind neighboring states. Representative Cavaz de Grama asked for an offline, more detailed plan about who would travel to conventions and how follow-up with prospective event bookers would be handled.

Budget context: DECD staff said the department increased CTCSB’s budget last year to retain staff and pay rising costs, and that eliminating the separate line item would produce roughly $550,000 in savings in one component plus other amounts (a cited figure brought total near $1 million in related savings when accounting for an international salesperson and advertising support). DECD said any marketing or sales work now performed by CTCSB would “not drop off” but be consolidated under DECD or performed by contractors and tourism districts.

What DECD will provide next: staff offered to supply a detailed breakdown of how CTCSB funding and CTvisit advertising dollars were spent, the planned staffing/capacity to absorb CTCSB functions, and an ROI study the department is preparing. Several legislators asked DECD to provide the department’s capacity plan, vendor arrangements and the specific staffing model for taking on CTCSB sales functions.

Ending: Lawmakers asked DECD to return with a written plan and supporting numbers so the subcommittee can weigh the programmatic risks of a smaller statewide marketing appropriation against the projected savings.