subscribesubscriber servicescontact usabout ussite mapBuy a Classified
Thu, Nov 26 2009 

Published: September 27, 2008 10:12 pm    print this story  

Greenbrier CVB releases its annual report

Christian Giggenbach
Register-Herald Reporter

LEWISBURG The Greenbrier County Convention and Visitor’s Bureau released its 2007-08 annual report last week, putting a cap on a fiscal year marred by significant decreases in revenue, but bolstered by the promises of a new home, a new look and a hi-tech Web site.

CVB Executive Director Kara Dense presented the annual report to the county commission and to CVB board members last week and will do the same next week in Lewisburg, Alderson and White Sulphur Springs.

Although 3,544 visitors walked through the CVB doors in 2007-08, those numbers decreased from last year by nearly 670. However, Dense said, this downward trend is not specific to this area. The CVB saw a 35 percent decrease of walk-ins in August.

“We have experienced a drop in visitors all year,” Dense said. “Visitors to state welcome centers were down about 21 percent, so this is a trend we are seeing all across the state,” Dense said.

Due to the decrease in bed tax revenue caused by the failure of a collective bargaining agreement at the four-star Greenbrier resort, advertising “visitors impressions” were reduced drastically from 59 million last year, to just 38 million this year. Telephone requests also saw a marked decrease of over 5,000 from last year (from 7,737 to 2,344).

County hotel/motel taxes decreased again in August causing the CVB to invoice the county commission for $4,916.79 in order to shore up the CVB’s coffers per the agreement they reached this summer. In 2007, county bed taxes yielded $79,970 for the CVB, but only $58,849 was collected this year, a decrease of about 27 percent.

But out of the doom and gloom of their financial worries, Dense also detailed several positive developments undertaken by the CVB in the last year.

“These development include the launch of a new state-of-the-art Web site that was designed to benefit both visitors and tourism partners alike, as well as a new advertising campaign for the upcoming year,” Dense said.

Dense said renovation work will soon begin on the CVB’s new digs at the 15,000-square-foot downtown Lewisburg building which will promote history and tourism in Greenbrier, Monroe, Summers and Pocahontas counties, as well as serve as the CVB’s visitor’s center.

Board member Robert Neff said a $544,000 grant for the remodeling the building, secured by Rep. Nick Rahall, D-WV, is ready for use.

Dense also mentioned the CVB’s “new brand” name which has deleted the word “county” from its letterhead, Web site and other promotional campaigns. All of the ads now say: “Greenbrier Valley.”

“When people think of a place to go to in their mind, they think of a region, like the Greenbrier Valley, instead of a county,” Dense said.

— E-mail: cgiggenbach@register-herald.com

print this story  



autoconx

Premier Guide
Premier Guide
Find a business

Walking Fingers
Maps, Menus, Store hours, Coupons, and more...
Premier Guide

Find a job! Find a Home! Find a car!

Premium Jobs

BLASTING TECHNICIAN
Bridgemont Community and Technical College is seeking applicants for the following position. Blasting Technician AAS Pro...>MORE

VARIOUS POSITIONS - NEW RIVER CTC
New River Community and Technical College, with multiple campuses in southeast West Virginia, continues to build its adm...>MORE

SALES ASSOCIATES AND SERVICE TECHNICIAN
Now taking applications for Sales Associates and Service Technician. Grand Home Furnishings is currently seeking qualifi...>MORE

ADMISSIONS COUNSELOR / PROGRAM ASSISTANT II
LEWISBURG, WV - The West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine is currently hiring for the following positions: Admi...>MORE

ER DIRECTOR - CAMC
ER Director - Charleston Area Medical Center - Memorial Hospital. Charleston, WV. Charleston Area Medical Center (CAMC) ...>MORE

ELECTRICAL DIVISION POSITIONS
Taggart Global, LLC is an international design, engineering and construction company with expertise in turnkey design, s...>MORE

PROGRAM DIRECTOR, HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT
KANAWHA VALLEY COMMUNITY & TECHNICAL COLLEGE Cole Complex, Institute, WV 25112 Invites applications for the position of:...>MORE

CERTIFIED SURFACE MINE ELECTRICIANS AND MECHANICS - NICHOLAS ENERGY
Republic Energy is accepting applications and resumes for Certified Surface Mine Electricians and Mechanics. If you are ...>MORE

UNDERGROUND MINING POSITIONS - KINGSTON RESOURCES
Kingston Mining, Inc. (A subsidiary of Riverton Coal Production, Inc.) is seeking qualified applicants with proven, acce...>MORE

VARIOUS MINING POSITIONS - WINCHESTER
Winchester Deep Mine. Winchester Mining, an operating affiliate of Patriot Coal Corporation, has the following openings ...>MORE

See all ads

Premium Jobs

See all ads


 

Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc.CNHI Classified Advertising NetworkCNHI News Service
Associated Press content © 2009. All rights reserved. AP content may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Our site is powered by Zope and our Internet Yellow Pages site is powered by PremierGuide.
Some parts of our site may require you to download the Flash Player Plugin.
View our Privacy Policy
Advertiser index