Lodging tax receipts see small dip

At the Tuesday meeting of Hot Springs Travel and Tourism, Director Amanda Moeller reported a bit lower deposit of lodging tax receipts compared to this time last fiscal year. The July deposit this fiscal year was $13,359.59, compared to $15,997.24 in July of the 2017-18 fiscal year.

Moeller said the receipt report had three contributors — Town of Thermopolis, Hot Springs County and East Thermopolis. Board member Carly Leyba requested the breakdown of tax receipts be presented at future meetings.

At a budget hearing prior to the meeting, Moeller reported, there was nobody present to provide question or comment. She noted there was a minor budget adjustment, as she was notified they had received their $5,000 grant from the Wyoming Office of Tourism just before the end of June.

Also at the meeting, Moeller reported she met with the Wyoming Office of Tourism, which was taking marketing company Edelman representatives on a familiarization tour around this area of the state. She added the tour was for the reps to get an idea of what communities are looking for, and she expressed the board’s wishes for a focus on Thermopolis as a place to come in the winter.

Moeller also noted a recent collaboration with the Wind River Visitor Council with a woman who came here as part of writing an article on cool places to eat. A writer for The Denver Post was also here, and Moeller is hopeful that paper will have an article about the town.

Action on defining “travel and tourism” for future board appointments was tabled. After some conflict regarding a recent board appointment, it was decided a clearer definition was needed and board members were asked to come up with definitions then bring them to a future meeting, where they would be used to make the final language for the board’s bylaws.