In 2018, community activists in Sedona came uncomfortably close to shutting down funding for Destination Marketing. The Sedona Chamber of Commerce & Tourism Bureau responded by developing a sensational Sustainable Tourism Plan and resident anger subsided, with most being satisfied that their concerns had been addressed. We featured then-Chamber CEO Jennifer Wesselhoff on an episode of the DMOU podcast that you can hear here.
The anger and frustration is back...and the Sedona City Council spent 4 and a half hours last week going over every single line item in the Chamber's proposed budget, with the intent to strip anything that smelled like marketing from the budget. The ultimate goal: to hit the pause button on all consumer marketing for a year to see if visitation slows.
Seems like a mighty big risk for a City that depends on visitor spending to make up 80% of their sales tax receipts.
Comments