Local IssuesTourism agency to see more oversight
Matthew Casey For The Arizona Daily Star |
The six-month audit, by Marshall Murdaugh Marketing, also said the bureau views itself as autonomous from the governments that created it and provide the bulk of its funding, and that its operations are not transparent.
The supervisors approved a series of recommendations in the audit report, including that the MTCVB develop a “destination marketing plan” for the region, focus on rebuilding the city’s meeting and convention industry, and develop a tourism master plan for downtown.
The audit was ordered in November after MTCVB President and CEO Jonathan Walker met with the board in order to secure $2.6 million in county funding. Before that meeting, county officials had threatened to withhold bureau funding because bureau officials were unresponsive to repeated requests for a financial accounting.
Brian Johnson, managing director of Loews Ventana Canyon and chairman of the audit committee, who presented the audit findings to the board, said, “The CVB is not failing. They have challenges. Some are brought by funding. Some are brought by communication or lack of communication.”
But Johnson also said the bureau should be commended for generating $170 million in business last year despite losing 34 percent of its funding since 2007. “With what they’ve been charged with,” he said, “I really applaud their efforts.”
Republican Supervisor Ray Carroll said the audit’s suggestion of more cooperation between the MTCVB and regional government entities would help counteract the effects of the economic recession.
“We no longer can rely on sunshine to drive people into our state,” he said. “If we’re not aggressive in fighting for that, you can bet other states are poised to take that.” |
