Chamber receives grant to boost 'heads in beds'

SANDPOINT — The Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce was awarded a grant of $109,300 from the Idaho Tourism Council during their quarterly meeting held at Schweitzer Mountain Resort on Aug. 4. Funds granted through the ITC program are used for the promotion of tourism and travel to the region.

“We are so proud to be the recipient of these funds, especially when we were the only grantee in our region to receive an increase,” said Executive Director Amy Little. In a time when the lodging industry has been experiencing a slight decline, Little says they are fortunate to receive an increase of nearly ten percent over last year’s award. “Now the real work begins to show the ITC that we will be great stewards of the funds and maximize them to promote tourism to our beautiful area.”

 Tourism is a $3 billion dollar industry in the state, and the Idaho Travel Council and the Tourism Development Division’s activities are funded by a two percent lodging tax, paid by travelers and collected by the state’s hotel, motel and private campground owners. Forty-five percent of those funds are distributed back through the Idaho Regional Travel and Convention Grant Program, and the Idaho Travel Council granted more than $3 million dollars in tourism marketing funds this year to 36 organizations to promote cities, towns, and regions of the state as tourist destinations through print and electronic advertising, brochures, travel shows, direct mail, industry research, and web sites.

Little explained that the money received locally is used for the purpose of promoting tourism through projects such as producing the annual visitor’s guide, regional advertising, and supporting local events that draw visitors from around the region. “None of the funds are used to offset staff salaries or to maintain the Visitor’s Center,” Little said.

Annually, maintenance of the Visitor’s Center costs more than $14,000 and is paid partially through chamber and Visit Sandpoint membership dues. That figure doesn’t include staffing, but does include lawn care, insurance, maintenance and supplies for the restrooms. “Many people assume our center is supported by the state or the county and that we are just a public rest stop, but in all reality we are totally self-supporting.”

The Chamber Visitors Center, located at 1202 Highway 95, saw 11,606 visitors in 2008 and 4,886 visitors year-to-date in 2009. In the last two years, the largest portion of travelers were from Canada, followed by travelers from Washington and California.

 For more information on the chamber and the center, call 263-0887, visit the Visit Sandpoint website at VisitSandpoint.info, or visit SandpointChamber.com.