The state House Finance Committee will hear a bill today designed to safeguard last year’s boost to Colorado’s marketing budget.
Last year, the legislature approved a roughly $19 million annual tourism marketing and advertising budget for the Colorado Tourism Office, up from about $5 million. The additional money comes from gaming revenues otherwise slated for the state’s general fund.
The increase in tourism funding was part of a $26.5 million economic-development package that also boosted funding for groups including the Colorado Council on the Arts. The bill requires that the additional money is available only when the growth in general-fund revenues reaches mandated levels.
House Bill 1009 proposes that in years when the funding goal is not achieved, the Joint Budget Committee would review the situation before deciding which funding cuts to make.
“In the marketing business, you need to be aggressive and you need to be consistent,” said Rep. Al White, R-Winter Park. He is sponsoring the bill along with Sen. Jim Isgar, D-Hesperus.
More than 50 Colorado tourism-industry representatives gathered at the Capitol on Monday to learn how they can garner legislative support for the industry. The day-long event was sponsored by the state tourism office.
“It’s interesting to see the legislative process at the larger level because what we do is much more grassroots,” said Anne Barney of the Durango Area Tourism Office.
Elsie Lacy, a lobbyist for the Tourism Industry Association of Colorado, encouraged the participants to contact their representatives and stress the importance of continual funding.
“We’ve come a long way in getting the legislature to realize the importance of tourism, but it is still looked at as fluff that can be done away with,” she said.
In 2004, a record 25.9 million overnight travelers visited the state, spending a total of $8.2 billion, according to Longwoods International.
Staff writer Julie Dunn can be reached at 303-954-1592 or jdunn@denverpost.com.
