MONROE - The City of Monroe Visitors and Promotion Board spent most of its hour-long meeting Friday discussing how to be more proactive in its promotion of the city and its events.
Although the economy may slow tourism this season, it may be beneficial for Monroe, board member Jim Glessner said.
"They may be making more close-to-home trips," he added.
About 19 million people live within a 200-mile radius of the tri-state area, where Wisconsin, Iowa and Illinois meet, Glessner noted.
"With all the city and county and organizations, we have an opportunity to do great things, if we are proactive," he said.
"I think this is going to be a great year," member Randy Gobeli said. "People won't drive five hours, but they will drive two hours."
A bad sign of the economy is that the Wisconsin Department of Tourism will not be staffing any of its eight welcome centers this year. The state's Grant County Welcome Center will be self-serve from April through October, with the Platteville Commerce office preparing to become the gateway to Wisconsin serving visitors in that area.
Monroe Main Street Executive Director Barb Nelson said she has been told by the Department of Tourism not to send any materials to stock brochure racks until further notice.
That leaves many of the city's promotional and advertising brochures without a display location.
Board members narrowed their discussion to several options to look into, including year-round, consolidated advertising promotions of events; identifying outside areas with the most potential for visitors to Monroe or Green County; free advertising opportunities; and self-promotion ideas.
Requests from organizations and event coordinators for advertising funding from the board must be tied to potential overnight stays by visitors to the city. Funds used by the board are generated by a 4 percent surcharge on hotel and motel bills.
The Board has about $60,000 in its account as of Friday.
"That money should not be (sitting) in there," Mayor Ron Marsh, chair of the board, said.
"We have been a group that sort of waited for people to come to us," Marsh said. "And I think that has to end. We need to turn that around."
The board learned that some requests result in a high cost per overnight stay.
"We can't walk away from (funding) any event without providing some dollars," Marsh said. "We can partly fund them, but make better use of funds, while promoting them, on (consolidated) advertising."
"The key word is proactive, not reactive," he said.
The Visitor and Promotion Board is scheduled to meet April 8 with more information on the research results.
Although the economy may slow tourism this season, it may be beneficial for Monroe, board member Jim Glessner said.
"They may be making more close-to-home trips," he added.
About 19 million people live within a 200-mile radius of the tri-state area, where Wisconsin, Iowa and Illinois meet, Glessner noted.
"With all the city and county and organizations, we have an opportunity to do great things, if we are proactive," he said.
"I think this is going to be a great year," member Randy Gobeli said. "People won't drive five hours, but they will drive two hours."
A bad sign of the economy is that the Wisconsin Department of Tourism will not be staffing any of its eight welcome centers this year. The state's Grant County Welcome Center will be self-serve from April through October, with the Platteville Commerce office preparing to become the gateway to Wisconsin serving visitors in that area.
Monroe Main Street Executive Director Barb Nelson said she has been told by the Department of Tourism not to send any materials to stock brochure racks until further notice.
That leaves many of the city's promotional and advertising brochures without a display location.
Board members narrowed their discussion to several options to look into, including year-round, consolidated advertising promotions of events; identifying outside areas with the most potential for visitors to Monroe or Green County; free advertising opportunities; and self-promotion ideas.
Requests from organizations and event coordinators for advertising funding from the board must be tied to potential overnight stays by visitors to the city. Funds used by the board are generated by a 4 percent surcharge on hotel and motel bills.
The Board has about $60,000 in its account as of Friday.
"That money should not be (sitting) in there," Mayor Ron Marsh, chair of the board, said.
"We have been a group that sort of waited for people to come to us," Marsh said. "And I think that has to end. We need to turn that around."
The board learned that some requests result in a high cost per overnight stay.
"We can't walk away from (funding) any event without providing some dollars," Marsh said. "We can partly fund them, but make better use of funds, while promoting them, on (consolidated) advertising."
"The key word is proactive, not reactive," he said.
The Visitor and Promotion Board is scheduled to meet April 8 with more information on the research results.