Travel Promotion Budget Faces Cuts

Anticipated state budget cuts could impact Wyoming’s winter marketing to the tune of $ ½-million.  That’s what Teton County lawmakers learned during a meeting with Travel Commission Director Dianne Shober.  State Representative Keith Gingery says at this point, it’s still unknown if Governor Mead will call for an 8% cut to all state agencies when he issues his revised budget in December.  Gingery says the revenue picture is looking better than many people thought it was going to look; so the question is will Mead still present a budget with an 8% cut, and if so, will the legislature endorse it or raise some of those expenditures up? Should the cut be called for, Gingery says it would mean $500-thousand would be cut from matching funds available for local winter promotional efforts in 2013 – and specifically he says, that could impact the marketing of Jackson Hole activities.  He says there is about $700-thousand to spend on winter tourism promotion at the state level, but $500 may have to be taken from the budget to promote localities next year.  Gingery points out that the efforts of the local lodging tax board work very well together with the state promotional efforts.