Is Oro Valley Pouring Money Down A Rat-Hole: Metropolitan Tucson Convention and Visitors Bureau

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More than a year ago, we wrote how foolish it is for Oro Valley to fund, in any way, the Metropolitan Tucson Convention and Visitors Bureau (MTCVB)   You can read these postings by clicking here. It's one of those topics that just keeps coming up.

After all, if Oro Valley can't fund Coyote Run, a service vital to our most needy, why should Oro Valley fund this organization?

Currently, MTCVB is funded by the bed tax to an amount in the range of $70,000 to $75,000.

According to MTCVB's report to town council of July 15, 2011:

"Oro Valley benefited from two sports events that the MTCVB brought to the
Town-- the Iron Kids competition and the USA Triathlon Duathalon Competition
which combined made an economic impact of over $750,000 to the Town."

We wonder: How did they measure this?  Is an "economic impact" of $750,000 really all that much when costs in goods and services of providing this $750,000 are probably 90% of the "impact"? In other words, did Oro Valley really get much for it's $75,000 investment?

Apparently, we are not the only ones questioning the value of the MTCVB.

Last week, the Daily Star posted an article entitled: Tourism Bureau Gets Poor Marks.

You can read the article.

"Overall satisfaction with the bureau was pegged at "less than satisfactory," or 3.1 on a 5-point scale. Bureau leadership was rated "weak," as relates to economic development, at 2.9."

According to the people who use it, MTCVB is a mediocre organization.  Is it really worth any investment at all?
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