Travel and Tourism

Opening the Travel and Tourism meeting on a positive note, Amanda Moeller reported that it was a record month for the tax deposit with an 18% increase over last year. This is the highest deposit in four years.

She mentioned during the Craft Fair one of the venders had trouble finding a place to stay due to the local motels being booked up. With efforts to combine the Craft Fair, Folk Festival and Gift of the Waters was quite successful and if all the motels were booked then something was done right.

Television advertising seems to be plagued with some difficulties. KTWO television was contracted to produce a television spot for but seems to be unable to deliver.

The Casper station was supposed to have the commercial up and broadcasting by August 24. The station was contacted and it promised to have the commercial done by the end of the day. The board discussed that KTWO should be dropped due to their inability to produce a product on time. However, the Billings station KULR was contracted to produce a television commercial to reach out to the northern part of the state. The shoot was done for no charge, crediting back travel expenses for credit for more spots. It was brought up to increase the budget by another $4,000 to match what was done in Casper. In the end the board decided to wait and see what happens with KTWO before they move money to cover new expenses.

There will be a new look for several billboards across the state to advertise Thermopolis. With locations in Wapiti, Buffalo off of I-90, Waltman and to the south of town just before entering the city limits. Each one with it’s own unique look to represent the town. Concern for the design on the billboard in Wapiti was brought up, it needed to stand out from the trees in the back ground and the colors should pop. Another concern was how long the billboards will last when they are facing south directly into the sun. The board decided to accept all the billboard designs as presented and passed a motion to proceed with the improvements.

In new business, Basin radio on the Gillette side of the mountain will be running several spots in October all the way till February. These 30 second spots will be reiterations of come to Thermopolis and the things that Thermopolis has to offer. Travel and Tourism has been sponsoring the community calendar for the Wind River radio station it was brought up that they have done a great job on Thermopolis radio spot.

Planning for the future in August 2017 a total solar eclipse will occur. Thermopolis will be one of the best locations to see it in the U.S. There will be a possible overflow of out of town people who will be following the path of the eclipse. A concern that local motels will not be able to take reservations so far out, this could be a good opportunity for the town. It was brought up that the State is going to promote the event through the parks.

The idea was presented to the board about using a billboard in Casper within city limits. The new electric billboards may be an option and are becoming more and more prevalent. The board asked Moeller to look into both options.

The next meeting will October 20 at 1 p.m. at the Hot Springs County Museum.