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Travel commission defends marketing

By
KateLynn Slaamot, NLJ Reporter

The Weston County Travel Commission, whose goal is to promote travel and tourism in Weston County, recently approved its budget for fiscal year 2023, totaling $160,400. 
The travel commission receives its funding from Wyoming’s state lodging tax of 5%, 2% of which stays local. According to Norma Shelton, longtime member of the travel commission, the organization helps to fund motels, fairgrounds and local museums, and its members also help with advertising community events and organizations, etc. She said that two of the events that have received assistance are Madness on Main and RPM Days. 
A breakdown of the budget shows $2,300 for administration, $67,500 for advertising, $13,600 for chambers of commerce and $9,500 for funding requests. With its reserve funds, the commission set aside $5,000 for beautification, $8,500 for billboards, $12,000 for community events, $12,000 for cooperative advertising, $15,000 for reserve, $5,000 for staff and $10,000 for startup events. 
According to a flyer that shows past spending, outgoing money in fiscal 2021 included $35,225.21 for advertising, $29,224.64 from CARES Act funds, $3,599.75 for community events, $2,000 for beautification, $13,600 for the Newcastle Area and Upton Chambers of Commerce and $1,360.91 of overhead. 
For fiscal 2022, spending was $65,149.43 for advertising, $27,437.45 with CARES Act funds, $20,709 reserve expense and funding requests, $9,999.20 for community events, $2,000 for beautification, $13,600 for the chambers and $1,061.50 for overhead. 
Advertising has historically been the commission’s largest expense, and when asked for details on how that money is being used to promote Weston County tourism, Shelton was able to provide further detail.
She said the commission has rented a number of billboards, located at Mule Creek Junction, at Moorcroft, on Interstate 90 at Sundance and one just west of Newcastle. Other money in fiscal 2022 has gone to advertising with the News Letter Journal, website maintenance for the organization’s website operated by TDG Marketing out of Deadwood, advertising in South Dakota and Wyoming travel guides, brochures, postcards, etc. 
Last year the commission spent $3,485 with the News Letter Journal for the Beaver Creek Loop Tour brochures and $1,274 went to A-1 Agency for the Upton Chamber of Commerce’s Prairie to the Pines Loop Tour brochures. The commission also had a contract with Certified Folders for $4,130 to distribute rack cards across the state. Routes were Yellowstone, Billings, Buffalo and Sheridan, Gillette, I-90 East and Lusk and Torrington. There are also a few rack cards in Newcastle. 
More advertising dollars for fiscal 2022 included $10,826 for billboards, $5,054 for digital advertising and $11,299 for photo shoots and videos, all from federal CARES funds. Other items included $968 for local trail brochures, $684 for local postcards, $1,275 for the Sturgis Rally and digital advertising, $9,000 for the travel commission’s website, spring campaign media online and Trail Addict online, $451 for the local Stampede Street brochures, $400 for the News Letter Journal Hotel Guide, $2,400 for the News Letter Journal’s Western Heritage, $650 for a three-month online banner on the News Letter Journal website, $11,750 for Weston County Fairgrounds advertising, $9,500 for local signage, $6,460 for Wyoming ads and $1,250 for billboard rent for the Mule Creek Junction and Moorcroft billboards. 
“TDG Marketing is our primary source of reference and support. They coordinate with many local and non-local entities to give us the best result for our input (digital and print),” Brittany Trandahl, president of the Weston County Travel Commission, wrote in an email.
According to Chad Blair, director of accounts at TDG, the travel commission’s website, wideopenweston.com, receives an average of a little over 9,000 sessions per month, for the last two years. 
“A majority of that traffic, like most website traffic for rural DMO’s (destination management organizations), comes from paid placement,” Blair stated in an email. 
In addition, Blair said the digital campaigns had over 19 million impressions in the same time period, also generating more than 2.2 million video views, engagements and clicks to the website. 
“The tactics we use are a combination of Search Engine Marketing, Dynamic Display on the Google Ad Network, Video pre-roll via Google and YouTube,” Blair also wrote. 
Blair also shared plans for a new website.
“We’re currently developing a new website that will highlight upcoming events, news and community information in the form of a blog and feature-style editorial content. In addition, there will be expanded sections related to the area, travel itineraries, types of activities for visitors and a history of the area and travel commission,” Blair noted. 
Blair said that “regular, recurring, relevant content” helps to generate more organic traffic.
The commission is also planning to start a podcast with the Wyoming Tourism Department. With TDG Marketing, the commission has been doing more digital advertising, according to Shelton.
The members of the travel commission all feel that the commission has done well for promoting the county. 
“The Weston County Travel Commission is committed to promoting Weston County in many different sources. Our goal, as a taxpayer-supported board, is to promote tourism to Weston County from out of our area,” Trandahl said.
Bruce Perkins, a member on the board, said the group is important because it is the face of Weston County. 
“We try all aspects of advertising — what works we keep, what doesn’t, we try something else,” Perkins said. 
Another member and the manager at the Newcastle Lodge and Convention Center, Linda Ahlers, said that lodging tax paid was up in 2021, which could be an indicator of increased visitors to the county. 
“The travel commission is a mix of businesspeople, business owners, hotel, city and community members. Each brings their insight to the needs of the Newcastle community and business. With this being the only organization that focuses on bringing people to the area, it is imperative to have this group. Their goal matches mine, heads in beds, backsides in seats. For Newcastle Lodge, it is very successful to bring in more business,” Ahlers said. 
Tourism is an important industry to the area and brings in much-needed revenue to the community. 
According to a flyer with travel data from 2020, travel and tourism generated $17.3 million of spending in the county. In addition, there were 140 travel-generated jobs, $1 million travel-generated taxes and 52,970 visitors to the county. 
“Travelers spent $17.3 million, which generated $1 million in state and local tax receipts. Travel Generated tax revenues help to support local communities through public services and local infrastructure projects,” the flyer states.
While members of the travel commission admitted there’s always room for improvement and new ways to bring in visitors, they all said they do their best and truly believe the Weston County Travel Commission helps support local businesses and organizations. 
“We are not on the interstate, and we are not a destination. However, our community is working hard to make that happen with the trails, walking tours and driving tours. We appreciate what they are doing to bring more business to Weston County, and we are doing our best to advertise these,” Shelton said. 
Ahlers also noted that the travel commission has open meetings on the first Wednesday of every month that the public is welcome to attend and give their input.

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