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Grand County tourism board approves quarterly grants and touts marketing data showing increased visitor spend
Summary
The tourism board presented 11 quarterly grant MOUs (including $70,000 for Town of Grand Lake) and Madden Media reported metrics from 2025 campaigns: roughly $230,000 spend, millions of impressions, thousands of room nights and millions in attributable visitor spend, as well as website upgrades and a MindTrip itinerary tool.
The Grand County Tourism Board presented 11 grantee MOUs for first‑quarter block grants and the county board approved the slate by motion on Feb. 17. Grants include Hot Sulphur Springs Chamber ($10,000), Kremmling Chamber ($14,000), Town of Grand Lake ($70,000), Winter Park/Fraser Chamber ($50,000) and Destination Granby ($57,400), among others.
Tourism director Gaylene Orr then introduced Madden Media, which reviewed 2025 campaign performance and product improvements. Madden reported approximately $230,000 in campaign spend, about 26 million impressions and an estimated 8,000 attributable room nights from marketing efforts; they also cited roughly $5.2 million in attributable visitor spend tied to conversion buys and an increase in average length of stay from 2.1 to 2.3 days year‑over‑year.
Madden described web improvements—including integration of an AI itinerary tool called MindTrip—and said marketing buys on platforms such as Expedia and Epsilon produced measurable returns (the presentation cited a 15:1 return for one partner and strong ROI on Expedia conversions).
Commissioners asked about multi‑year event funding policies and whether grants are intended to seed events to self‑sustainability; the tourism director confirmed a typical multi‑year starter model (three years) and said many grantees expect to become self‑sufficient.
Provenance: Tourism grants MOUs and Madden Media presentation (SEG 1984–SEG 2910).
