Grand County tourism board lays out strategy to spread visitors across county, seeks continued funding and more metrics

The Grand County Tourism Board presented a two‑year strategic plan and new marketing approach to county commissioners during a lengthy workshop-style session, asking the board to maintain support for countywide tourism funding while improving measurable accountability.

Board vice president and longtime tourism leader Gaylene Orr told commissioners the board’s plan centers on four pillars—organizational strength, marketing and branding, support for local businesses, and destination stewardship—and is designed to spread visitors beyond the county’s busiest nodes. Orr said the board’s research, including a community survey with roughly 879 resident responses, guided the priorities: “we want the Grand County Tourism Board stay strong. We stay here for every element of our county to keep us strong and keep those roads safe and clear,” she said.

Why it matters: Tourism is a major economic driver in Grand County. Board members and business representatives argued that coordinated countywide marketing brings longer stays and tax revenue that support local businesses, housing and services. Commissioners acknowledged those benefits but pressed for clearer measurements of the program’s results and how marketing spending ties to lodging and sales tax outcomes.

Supporting details: The board said about one‑third of tourism funds currently go to grants and community events, with the rest supporting countywide promotion, staffing and advertising. The tourism board recently selected Madden as its new marketing agency and is rolling out data tools (Datify, AirDNA and agency attribution tools) to track web visits, campaign attribution and lodging pacing. Board members said the new reporting will let them show how campaigns translate into stays in shoulder seasons and into longer overnight visits.

Commissioners’ questions and board responses: Commissioners repeatedly asked for a concise, recurring report showing key performance indicators (KPIs) such as website visits, lodging pacing, campaign attribution and grant outcomes. Gaylene Orr and tourism staff agreed to provide a quarterly high‑level report with those data points and to work with county finance and management on a five‑year budget scenario that includes reserves and grants.

What’s next: Commissioners signaled they are not prepared to make major funding changes now; a few said they want to see the first cycle of data from the new agency and requested a short, recurring dashboard showing campaign performance, website traffic and lodging metrics before any policy change is considered.