Gettysburg CVB faces more than 50 percent cut in state funding
Reduction follows approval of legislation
(Gettysburg, Pennsylvania) - 11/12/2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ...
CONTACT:
Carl Whitehill
Media Relations Manager
Gettysburg Convention & Visitors Bureau
(717) 338-1055
The Gettysburg Convention & Visitors Bureau received notice this week that its state grant was cut significantly by the State Tourism Office.
The tourism promotion agency will receive $137,969 in funding for 2008-2009. This represents a cut of nearly 51 percent. In 2007-2008, the tourism promotion agency received $280,101 in state matching funds.
State funding accounts for nearly 25 percent of the Gettysburg CVB�s budget. The remaining 75 percent is generated through the county�s lodging tax and membership dues.
�This is a big hit on our budget,� said Norris Flowers, President of the Gettysburg Convention & Visitors Bureau. �That state funding is important for the Convention & Visitors Bureau to effectively market Gettysburg and Adams County as a premier tourist destination.�
This, Flowers said, is the reason the Gettysburg CVB adamantly opposed House Bill 2302.
That bill, signed into law this summer, reduced the amount of state money given to tourism promotion agencies, such as the Gettysburg Convention & Visitors Bureau � and increased funding for regional marketing efforts.
Gettysburg Convention & Visitors Bureau is a part of an eight-county region, known as Dutch Country Roads, which represents Adams, York, Lancaster, Dauphin, Cumberland, Franklin, Perry and Lebanon counties.
Prior to House Bill 2302, tourism promotion agencies were given 67 percent directly, and 33 percent of the funding went to the region. This year, 63 percent went to TPAs and 33 percent was given to regional marketing efforts.
After the approval of Act 50, passed by the State Legislature this summer, those matching funds will be reduced to a 50-50 split over three years. The Gettysburg CVB predicted that over those three years, the organization would lose 45 percent of its state funding, but took a 50.75 percent hit the first year.
�We are now facing a challenge of replacing those lost marketing dollars, as marketing is vital to bringing visitors to Gettysburg and Adams County and the local economy,� said Flowers.
The Gettysburg Convention & Visitors Bureau was one of only two TPAs in the state that opposed the state legislation. The Pocono Mountain Visitors Bureau also opposed the measure.
�This news comes on the heels of a great tourism season in Gettysburg,� said Flowers. The Gettysburg CVB announced just last week that, through September, hotel occupancy was up more than 10 percent over those same months in 2007, according to a Smith Travel Research report.
According to a 2006 study, the most recent year available, more than $332 million is generated through tourism in Adams County. It�s the county�s No. 1 industry and accounts for more than 7,500 jobs. More than $227 million was paid to those employees.
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