Sweetwater County tourism board presents 2025 report to Green River council; local guides urge more river investment
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Summary
Sweetwater County Travel and Tourism presented its 2025 annual report to the Green River City Council, highlighting lodging tax revenue and marketing results, while local guides and council members urged more investments in trails and river/fisheries promotion to capture visitor spending.
Janessa Meredith, CEO of Sweetwater County Travel and Tourism, presented the board's 2025 annual report to the Green River City Council, outlining how the 4% local lodging tax is administered and spent and describing recent marketing and product-development efforts.
Meredith said the lodging tax supports visitor marketing rather than capital projects and reported collections of just over $1.5 million. She said 79% of the lodging-tax budget goes to out-of-county marketing, with smaller shares for event grants, chamber block grants, the event complex and administration. Meredith highlighted work that includes recruiting state sporting events (each can create an estimated $3 million local economic impact), the Flaming Gorge guided bus tours, a Flaming Gorge audio-tour app, sandboarding promotions, and a certified tourism-ambassador program with more than 200 participants.
During public comment, longtime guide Benny Johnson urged the council to prioritize river restoration and stronger promotion of fishing assets, saying that improvements and better habitat would boost lodging stays and local spending. Council members thanked Meredith for the report and asked that the tourism office assist with trail mapping and brochures to help visitors locate local recreation resources.
Meredith said the tourism board is updating its tourism master plan (originally developed in 2021), is preparing a history app for an upcoming 250th celebration, and is seeking federal funding opportunities for site improvements such as the Henry's Fork turnout with the Forest Service. She noted the board's earned-media value and that tourism advertising influenced an estimated $77 million in visitor spending and more than 59,000 visits in 2025.
Council members and presenters discussed cooperative steps to promote trails and visitor experiences; staff offered to provide brochures and mapping to help orient visitors. The presentation closed with staff responding to council queries about partnership opportunities and next steps for marketing and trail promotion.
