Better broadband would boost Vermont tourism

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2009

Letter Box

Better broadband would boost Vermont tourism

Editor of the Reformer:

As vice president of the Vermont Hospitality Council, Vicki Tebbetts makes an excellent case that "tourism drives our economy."

While I agree that tourism is important for Vermont’s economy, I don’t think it is as simple as increasing funding for tourism marketing. When tourists arrive to enjoy everything that our state offers, they discover that they can’t use their cell phones or laptop computers.

Therefore, a priority of the Legislature should also be to expand this state’s broadband capabilities.

The Vermont Telecommunications Authority, charged by the legislature to accomplish this task by 2010, is admittedly not going to succeed. Perhaps we need to assess exactly what has been accomplished by the VTA and redirect its efforts.

Broadband is a key to economic development. Without it, those tourists will not be able to call home to tell their friends about the beauty of Vermont.

Martin Cohn,

Brattleboro, Dec. 28

SATURDAY/SUNDAY DECEMBER 26-27, 2009

Tourism drives our economy

By VICKY PARRA TEBBETTS

The holidays are a time of reflection: a time to look upon what is important, and contemplate our expectations and goals for the New Year.

Five days after the crystal ball descends in Times Square, 180 lawmakers will descend upon Montpelier to look into their own crystal balls as the Legislature convenes.

They will grapple to reach agreement on a state budget that is predicted to be one of the leanest in decades. In the face of a recession, there will be many demands on Vermont's ever-tightening money belt.

Last year, the Legislature and the Governor recognized the importance of tourism marketing funding. What is going to be important to Vermont in 2010?

The Vermont Hospitality Council, the tourism division of the Vermont Chamber of Commerce, has identified funding for tourism marketing as a priority for our state. Tourism is a critical investment for the state of Vermont, particularly now.

In the upcoming session, we will urge the Legislature to appropriate $6.8 million to tourism funding, which would bring the allocation back to fiscal year 2000 levels.

A robust appropriation that funds marketing to inspire people to travel to Vermont is key to an economically successful 2010. Marketing tourism to the state of Vermont outside our borders is one of the few ways in which the state invests money, that in turn generates a significant investment of out-of-state dollars.

Much of that return stays in state, rippling through multiple sectors of the Vermont economy. In fact, based upon national and state metrics, Vermont receives an estimated $4.48 in additional state revenues for every $1 spent on marketing. Additionally, state marketing efforts generate revenue returns quickly, within three to six months.

Vermont is poised within a day's drive of 80 million people, located in our drive markets of Boston, New York, Montreal, and along the East Coast. When people come to Vermont, they book rooms in our hotels, bed and breakfasts, inns, and at our resorts. They create their own Vermont traditions as they dine out, shop, recreate, visit our attractions, buy our products and fill their cars with gas for the drive home.

In fact, according to the latest available benchmark study of the economic impact of visitor expenditures, performed by Economic and Policy Resources in Williston, visitors make an estimated 14.3 million person trips to Vermont, resulting in 24.5 million overnight stays and $1.61 billion in direct spending.

All this spending filters down to our people and communities. The Vermont tourism employee who is the primary household wage earner earns $42,350 per year, 15 percent above the average income of $36,949 for all employed individuals in Vermont.

Tourism businesses and their employees take those dollars and buy goods and services from other Vermont businesses, such as banks, contractors and construction companies, landscapers and maintenance services, auto dealers, and professional services such as those provided by attorneys, insurance agents, and accountants.

The state coffers benefit from our tourists and the businesses they visit through meals and rooms tax, sales tax, gas tax and property taxes. Visitor spending contributes almost $207 million in tax and fee revenues to the state of Vermont, and directly and indirectly supports 37,490 jobs (12 percent of all jobs in the state).

Further, Vermont has shown itself to be surprisingly resilient in a down economy. The wounds here are not as deep as they are in many other places in the country.

According to Travelclick, an international provider of hotel marketing products, at the close of the third quarter Vermont hotels experienced the largest increase in its market share, while the returns softened or declined for other states across the country.

Vermont is distinguished beyond its borders by its character and reputation. We embrace the Green Mountain State's culture and integrity.

Now, with the help of the Legislature, we must wield that brand and make the most of it. That's one investment that will work for everyone; our people, our businesses, and our state tax revenue figures. That's one revenue stream we can rely on, one we have built over decades. That's one investment that we don't have to look into our crystal balls to predict.

Vicky Tebbetts, a resident of Cabot, is the vice president of the Vermont Hospitality Council, the tourism division of the Vermont Chamber of Commerce.