Visit The Woodlands, the official destination marketing organization of The Woodlands recently held a Board Meeting and has announced its Board of Directors and Officers for 2020, including Bruce Rieser as Chairman, John Anthony Brown as Vice Chairman and Fred Domenick as Secretary/ Treasurer.
As volunteers, the officers serve alongside six others to comprise the now nine-seat Woodlands Convention and Visitors Bureau Board of Directors. Additional directors include Dr. Shelley Sekula-Gibbs, Director for The Woodlands Township; JJ Hollie, President & CEO for The Woodlands Area Chamber of Commerce, Kevin Viteri, General Manager at Embassy Suites by Hilton The Woodlands at Hughes, Ted Harris, General Manager at The Woodlands Mall, Jenny Taylor, General Manager of Market Street, Cameron Klepac, Director of Marketing & Education at The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion. The Board also appointed Nick Wolda as President of Visit The Woodlands.
The Board of Directors sets policies and recommends the budget for Visit The Woodlands’ marketing programs and sales outreach.
“I look forward to serving another year with colleagues on this important initiative in The Woodlands,” said Chairman Rieser. “The expansion of our Board from seven to nine members with individuals representing organizations who are major sales tax and event occupancy tax contributors to The Woodlands community is an example of our forward thinking mission at Visit The Woodlands."
The Woodlands community relies on hotel tax from 14 properties and a sales tax which comprise over half of The Woodlands Township’s $124 million budget. Travel and tourism in The Woodlands generated over $8.9 million in hotel occupancy tax revenue for The Woodlands in 2018.
"Visit The Woodlands continues to play an integral role in business development which helps provide a lower tax rate for residents of The Woodlands, Chairman Rieser said. "We have over 820,000 hotel rooms available in The Woodlands on an annual basis. This is a major generator of commerce through conventions, corporate meetings, leisure travel, concert goers, sporting events and more.”
According to the State of Texas, tourism generated $13,000,000 in local tax revenue in The Woodlands, creating $370,000,000 in direct spending in 2017. The travel and tourism industry directly supports 4,100 jobs in The Woodlands.
President Nick Wolda noted, “After a successful 2019 and a renewed vision on promoting The Woodlands as a premier destination for corporate and convention meetings and leisure travel. We look forward to the input and experience our Directors bring to the organization.”
Visit The Woodlands will continue to build on the sales, marketing and tourism initiatives that have been introduced in recent years. To enhance the online experience for its users, Visit The Woodlands will be releasing a redesigned website in the second quarter of this year.
Wolda added, “The Woodlands is known around the globe as a great place to live. Over the years, it has become corporate headquarters. The job of the CVB is to tell the world The Woodlands, with 2,250 hotel rooms available every night, that we’re a great place for corporate and convention meetings and a leisure travel which includes entertainment, recreation, shopping and dining.”
