Tourism board meets

At the June 16 Hot Springs County Travel and Tourism board meeting, new Treasurer Audra Dominguez gave the financial report. For the month of May they received $15,097.58 in lodging tax income and $4.41 in interest income. This amount was a record high for a monthly lodging tax income. Compared to 2019/20, during Covid, May was $4,838.18 and 2018/20 was $10,525.31. For the past 11 months ending May 31, the lodging tax income is $162,506.86.

Tourism Director Jackie Dorothy presented a worksheet from the Wyoming Office of Tourism that gives many key statistics about Hot Springs County’s tourism industry. In 2020, the county produced $20.1 million in travel-generated spending; it created 240 travel-generated jobs. The county has produced $1.2 million in travel-generated taxes. The report calculated that this increase has been from its 67,600 overnight visitors. It said, “The 240 jobs supported by travel represent 8.4% of Hot Springs County’s total private industry employment. Without those jobs, the 2020 Hot Springs County unemployment rate of 5% would have been 13.4%.

Travel and tourism is Wyoming’s second largest industry. Wyoming welcomed 6.9 million overnight visitors who spent over $3.05 billion in 2020.

There is an opening on the tourism board and Taylor Sweeney of the Star Plunge has expressed interest and will come to next month’s meeting.

Dorothy then presented the new website for the board. It is http://www.hotspringswyoming.com. The board reviewed it and made some suggestions. They voted to let the website go live. 

Board member Bob Roos brought up his concerns about the board’s billboards that are located in the greater Wyoming area. He wants them to be updated with new text, designs and colors that will make them easier to read and remember for those traveling down the highways. Roos said in his opinion, “Not one person has come to town because of the billboards.”

In new business, the board voted to accept $51,000 in additional CARES Act funds. They had over-budgeted by over $100K in anticipation of additional funds.