Today, the Texas Legislature filed the first draft of the Texas state budget as House Bill 1. To address the anticipated $27 billion shortfall in the budget, HB 1 includes very aggressive cuts to every state agency.
Impact on State Tourism Promotion Funding: In this initial draft, HB 1 cuts the state tourism promotion funding by about 85 percent. The reduction in funding means that the amount the State will have available to expend to market Texas tourism through media buys, ad placements, trade show attendance, and other programs will drop from $30 million annually to about $5 million annually for each of the next two years.
You can rest assured that with your help and the support of our industry partners, THLA will be fighting to get full funding for state tourism promotion back into the state budget. We already are in contact with the Governor’s Office and other elected state leaders on options for securing full funding for tourism promotion within HB 1.
If ever you needed a reason to attend this year’s Converge on the Capitol in Austin on February 23rd, this is it. With unprecedented pressure on the Legislature to cut and/or eliminate state programs and funding, we need to remind our elected legislators of the importance of sustaining an economic engine such as tourism promotion.
We will update you and issue calls to action as we gain further information on this matter.
Sincerely,
Scott Joslove
President & CEO
