During a Capitol for a Day visit to Stowe earlier this month by Gov. Phil Scott and Tourism Commissioner Wendy Knight, the state officials got an earful of input from owners of local tourism businesses.
Issues raised included:
- Meals and rooms tax revenues were up by $7.88M in 2018.
- In VT, 40-50% hotel occupancy is seen as "solid," but should be higher.
- Some business owners see VT's current tourism marketing as underfunded.
- Maine's occupancy grew by 5.6% last year, VT's by only 0.5%.
- More digital marketing and use of social media would help.
- Maine is following up tourism inquiries with targeted marketing; could work for VT.
- Airbnb and 3rd-party booking sites are pricing hotels out of business.
- "Windfall" rooms and meals tax revenues could be used to fund marketing.
- Increasing length of stay - extended weekends, midweek visits - is a target of VT Tourism but requires cultural change.
- Canadian market is weak because of exchange rate, Trump-Trudeau tensions.
- Only Boston people can afford vacation homes in Stowe.
- Need more airline capacity to VT from Boston, NYC, Toronto but profitability of these routes for airlines is iffy.
Why did VT's dropping out of Discover New England not come up in this discussion? Is everybody in VT tourism OK with this?
