CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Armed with graphs, statistics and other facts and figures, state Tourism Commissioner Chelsea Ruby is trying to convince state lawmakers to increase the advertising budget of her agency from $7.42 million to $20 million.
Gov. Jim Justice has the increase in his proposed budget. Ruby appeared before members of the House Finance Committee last Friday making a case for the increase. Ruby said for every $1 spent on tourism advertising in West Virginia the state gets $8 in return in the form of tax revenue.
“That’s not 8 to 1 spending that’s 8 to 1 tax dollars,” she said.
Neighboring states outspend West Virginia when it comes to tourism. Ruby said she often hears that’s just the way it is because those states are larger. She doesn’t buy the argument.
“The thing that I want to make sure everybody understands is that doesn’t matter,” she told House Finance Committee members. “In the market place we’re all competing for the same consumers. We’re going head-to-head with all of these states around us to try and bring other people into our state and the market doesn’t offer us a handicap.”
Ruby got some pushback from Delegate Cindy Frich (R-Monongalia) who wondered where the money would be coming from and if the state does have the money there are other things more important to fund.
“In addition to other agencies having being cut for years. We also have a very serious opioid and heroin epidemic in this state,” Frich said.
Another study Ruby likes to use is what’s identified as the halo effect in the tourism industry. Ruby said when someone from outside of West Virginia sees a tourism advertisement about the Mountain State their perception about the state improves.
“As a place to live, a place to start a career, a place to do business, a place to attend college, a place to purchase a vacation home and a place to retire. And what this shows clearly is that they had a perception of this state, then they saw a tourism ad, and that perception of the state in all of those categories, even though they may seem unrelated, improved,” Ruby said.
The proposed funding increase will be before the Senate Finance Committee for a budget hearing Jan. 30.