A $200,000 contract between the city of Longmont and Visit Longmont is one step toward rebuilding the group, which was badly battered by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The contract was approved by the city council early this week as was a plan to reevaluate Visit Longmont’s priorities and opportunities through the rest of 2021, according to a city staff report.
Visit Longmont, also known as Longmont Area Visitors Association, provides tourism activities using the hotel occupancy taxes collected by the city. COVID-19 led to a “significant drop” in the hotel sector of the economy and a significant drop in the city’s lodger tax.
The U.S. Travel Association estimates that travel spending totaled a “mere” $679 billion in 2020, an unprecedented annual decline —nearly $500 billion — from 2019, according to the staff report. In Longmont, Lodger’s Tax collections decreased by 60%, the report said.
The drop in revenue stalled Visit Longmont’s efforts to boost tourism for the city, said the city report.
Officials now want Visit Longmont to reset itself through 2021 including to “seek operational and budgetary efficiencies, better align scope and services with the other Advance Longmont partners and rebuild an organization that is positioned for the future,” the city report said.
Among the priorities Visit Longmont will focus on in 2021 include:
- Better align with Longmont Economic Development Partnership’s national marketing campaign
- Invest in the research and product development needed to coordinate messaging to external audiences
- Maintain and enhance Longmont’s online and print resources for tourism industry, destinations and visitors
- Complete and distribute Visitor’s Guide to attract new tourism business
- Maintain and utilize visitlongmont.org to attract visitors
- Maintain and promote the local craft pass, promoting the craft beverage sector in Longmont
- Continue to operate a Visitors Center and promote customer tours
- Expand on Longmont’s “unique position along the Front Range to gain more regional travelers,” according to the staff report.
