Funding has been cut for the Oneida County Tourism Council.
The Oneida County Board passed a budget this week that eliminated the funding.
The organization had originally requested 90-thousand dollars to support tourism promotion.
Krystal Westphal, President and CEO of the Minocqua Area Visitors Bureau, was among those speaking before the board asking that funding be restored.
“We're facing a very different economic climate than we were just a few years ago,” said Westphal. “Consumer spending is tightening, travel patterns are changing, and visitors are becoming more selective about where they spend their money. We're already seeing reductions in visitor spending, travel demand, and there's little indication that these trends will reverse anytime soon. When the market becomes more competitive, marketing becomes more important, not less."
Ben Brunell runs the Hodag Store, a tourism dependent business in Rhinelander.
“I welcome visitors throughout the year from all 50 states and dozens of countries,” said Brunell. “Every one of those visitors represents tourism dollars coming into the Northwoods supporting our local businesses and economy. But those dollars are not guaranteed to come to Oneida County. Visitors have plenty of choices, and we are competing with other Northwoods counties every year to attract them."
Oneida County Board member Billy Fried chairs the executive committee that crafted the budget.
He said that instead of devoting $90-thousand dollars to a marketing company, the money could be spent in better ways to support tourism.
"We adjusted, taking the money from tourism, so we could maintain snowmobile, UTV, and boat patrol,” said Fried. “Things that aren't mandated by our Sheriff's Department, but we felt were important because of the amount of people that come into our area. We maintained funding for the airport that is important to bring people up here. We maintained money in economic development"
It was also noted during the meeting that several local communities put substantial resources into tourism promotion through room tax revenues.
The Oneida County Board passed the budget without restoring money for the tourism council.
