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Chamber urges continued TRT support, cites marketing ROI for Warrenton
Summary
David Reed of the Estoria/Astoria-Warrenton chamber told the budget committee TRT funds support the Visitor Center and regional marketing that, using a UMass figure of 14.7% attributable visits, he estimates an about 11:1 return on investment for local tourism marketing.
The committee moved the transient room tax (TRT) discussion earlier on the agenda so David Reed, a chamber representative, could address the group.
Reed described the Visitor Center as a year-round, seven-day operation that directs visitors beyond the areas most obvious attractions, and said the chamber leverages TRT funding to amplify marketing. "When we talk about the, the TRT dollars funding the chamber, we're actually funding the work specifically at the Visitor Center," Reed said.
To illustrate the financial logic behind marketing, Reed cited recent academic studies and said he used a conservative 14.7% estimate from a University of Massachusetts study for the share of visitors attributable to marketing. Applying that figure to projected visitor spending, Reed said the alliances marketing work returns roughly "11 to 1" on investment.
Committee members asked about which local representatives sit on the regional travel alliance and whether the chamber could present to the full commission. Staff and Reed said representation includes appointees from each city and offered to bring a fuller presentation to the commission.
What to watch: TRT allocations, currently budgeted at $350,000 in pass-through revenues for the coming year, and any staff proposals to adjust the distribution of marketing funds to better link tourism promotion with local capital and infrastructure needs (including marina and campground reopenings).
