Visit Tuolumne County Hosting Tourism Marketing District Learning Sessions

Sonora, CA– Visit Tuolumne County (VTC) has announced two upcoming Tourism Marketing District learning sessions scheduled for February 28th at 1:00 PM and April 3rd at 6:00 PM. These sessions aim to educate stakeholders, lodging property owners and managers, as well as Tuolumne County and Sonora City governments about the concept and implementation of a Tourism Marketing District. The sessions will take place at the VTC Headquarters located at 193 S. Washington St. Sonora, CA 95370, or via Zoom. Interested participants can find more information and Zoom links on the VTC website, https://www.visittuolumne.com/tmd. RSVPs are requested for attendance confirmation.

The purpose of these sessions is to enlighten the community about the process and significance of a Tourism Marketing District. Currently, VTC’s budget relies on a decreasing tiered percentage of the transient occupancy tax (TOT), and the existing contract with Tuolumne County mandates VTC to establish an alternative sustainable funding source by May 2026. A common funding solution for Destination Marketing Organizations outside of TOT is a Tourism Marketing District (TMD), also known as a Business Improvement District, which involves an assessment added to lodging bills in addition to TOT.

VTC is collaborating with Civitas, an industry expert and founder of TMDs, to create a TMD. Currently, in the second phase, VTC is organizing a series of meetings and engaging with lodging properties to educate them on the benefits of a TMD. The first phase involved establishing a steering committee tasked with developing a draft service plan and guiding the feasibility study. Lisa Mayo, CEO & President of VTC, expressed anticipation for the opportunity to inform the community and lodging property owners about the advantages of a TMD and its potential to provide a more secure funding source for VTC. Mayo stated, “With a TMD in place, we can truly focus on sustaining and expanding our marketing programs for the benefit of the tourism industry.”

Mayo and the VTC team encourage those interested in learning more about the TMD to attend the upcoming sessions or contact VTC at (209) 533-4420 to schedule a one-on-one meeting.