It doesn't appear likely to happen in an Alabama town...but a City Council member there recently suggested capping his City's investment in destination marketing. Such a suggestion has been floated before and Council has been sophisticated enough to dismiss the notion out of hand.
But, it keeps coming up. This time, the quote from the Council floor was, ""Tourism does a wonderful job, but I feel like there needs to be a cap there. There needs to be a place where we stop them from getting so much. I feel like $900,000 is a lot of money."
Yeah...did you just snort Diet Pepsi through your nose, too?
But, here's the thing. The cost of everything keeps going up. Capping income to a DMO (or any enterprise) means they'll be able to do less and less every year. And, as the competition only gets fiercer.
So, to the Councilman, I ask...whatever you're making now in your day job? Mind if we cap your income for the rest of your life?
Just sayin...
This is a result of not educating the City Council and community on how the monies are used, impact of tourism monies spent and benefits of tourism to the community. Tourism/destination industry has to educate the community (incl. city council), be open and transparent as well as build trust and ongoing dialog with the community to avoid such situations.
Posted by: Nandi | August 12, 2021 at 08:43
Let's also stop issuing any permits for new construction anywhere in town. After all, if we keep letting projects get built, we'll just have to pay to provide them city services...you know, in return for ALL THOSE OTHER REVENUES THEY GENERATE...
Posted by: Maura Allen Gast | August 17, 2021 at 08:01