Dear Community Partner,
Every destination across the globe is vying for tourism and convention business, and competition is fierce. As the world’s travel and tourism industry attempts to pull out of the economic crisis of 2020 and 2021, we are facing our competition at a significant financial disadvantage.
After 40 years as the official Destination Marketing Organization (DMO)—charged with marketing the Greater Portland region for visitation—Visit Portland finds ourselves at a crossroads.
Visit Portland, Maine is one of only a handful of DMOs nationwide that is not primarily supported by public funding from a portion of lodging tax dollars. Relying solely on partnership and advertising revenues from local businesses means we have substantially fewer marketing resources to attract leisure and business travelers year-round.
It has been said that; “the best way to predict the future is to create it.” With that in mind, we offer up for your consideration the following document, which identifies the challenges we face in marketing Greater Portland as a tourism destination and provides a solution that has been embraced by hundreds of other Destination Marketing Organizations around the country.
The solution: A Tourism Improvement District.
Visit Portland has been working over the last few years to establish a Tourism Improvement District that will assist with these challenges for our community.
We encourage you to review this document and provide a statement of support as we move forward through the City Council.
Thank you,
Lynn Tillotson
President & CEO
Visit Portland, Maine
Updates
May 15, 2022
ive been talking to local business owners all week about how we can stay competitive and the feedback is really eye opening. its clear that everyone wants the same thing for our region so were working hard on the next steps to get this district moving.
May 15, 2022
im honestly blown away by how much this has picked up speed lately. its clear that everyone here sees how important this is for the future of our local businesses and the city overall.
6 Comments
tourism keeps our downtown alive during the slow months. dont let us fall behind.
Finally some real action for our tourism scene. My cafe depends on visitors and we need people to keep finding us.
Portland is losing its edge to other cities. We need to stay competitive or all the local shops will suffer. Do it.
marketing our city correctly is a no brainer. supports small biz owners like me.
PORTLAND IS A GEM! We should be shouting it from the rooftops. Keep the visitors coming!!
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Dear Community Partner,
Every destination across the globe is vying for tourism and convention business, and competition is fierce. As the world’s travel and tourism industry attempts to pull out of the economic crisis of 2020 and 2021, we are facing our competition at a significant financial disadvantage.
After 40 years as the official Destination Marketing Organization (DMO)—charged with marketing the Greater Portland region for visitation—Visit Portland finds ourselves at a crossroads.
Visit Portland, Maine is one of only a handful of DMOs nationwide that is not primarily supported by public funding from a portion of lodging tax dollars. Relying solely on partnership and advertising revenues from local businesses means we have substantially fewer marketing resources to attract leisure and business travelers year-round.
It has been said that; “the best way to predict the future is to create it.” With that in mind, we offer up for your consideration the following document, which identifies the challenges we face in marketing Greater Portland as a tourism destination and provides a solution that has been embraced by hundreds of other Destination Marketing Organizations around the country.
The solution: A Tourism Improvement District.
Visit Portland has been working over the last few years to establish a Tourism Improvement District that will assist with these challenges for our community.
We encourage you to review this document and provide a statement of support as we move forward through the City Council.
Thank you,
Lynn Tillotson
President & CEO
Visit Portland, Maine
Updates
May 15, 2022
ive been talking to local business owners all week about how we can stay competitive and the feedback is really eye opening. its clear that everyone wants the same thing for our region so were working hard on the next steps to get this district moving.
May 15, 2022
im honestly blown away by how much this has picked up speed lately. its clear that everyone here sees how important this is for the future of our local businesses and the city overall.
6 Comments
About time. Every other major city does this why are we falling behind? lets get it moving.
tourism keeps our downtown alive during the slow months. dont let us fall behind.
Finally some real action for our tourism scene. My cafe depends on visitors and we need people to keep finding us.
Portland is losing its edge to other cities. We need to stay competitive or all the local shops will suffer. Do it.
marketing our city correctly is a no brainer. supports small biz owners like me.
PORTLAND IS A GEM! We should be shouting it from the rooftops. Keep the visitors coming!!
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About time. Every other major city does this why are we falling behind? lets get it moving.