A few weeks ago we stopped at the Visitors Center on 371 south of
Brainerd, talked to the friendly attendee, and asked for a Minnesota road
map. She said “That will cost a dollar”. Hmm! Got to wondering how big
the Minnesota tourism budget is and why they started to charge for maps.
Turns out that, not only is the State tourism budget not being reduced, it
now is growing because of a new 1% dedicated tax on car rentals. The total
annual tourism budget is about 13 million. Maybe we, as citizens,
shouldn’t ask for anything from our Government. However, if department
stores can flood our newspapers and mailboxes with advertising, it seems
that Minnesota could use the opportunity to give out road maps with all of
it’s inherent advertising. The Governor and local interests should
remember that the citizens of Minnesota also spend a lot of “in state”
tourist dollars.
I know the Department of Tourism spends a lot of money on “out of
state” TV advertising and other dubious things, but, charging for road maps
makes us want to scratch our heads. There is an old saying that “perception
is reality”, and some how it seems that the State, and local interests
involved ,should think twice about looking like a cheapskate.
Chuck Hagberg
21554 County Road 11
Crosby MN 56441
Comments (6)
Add commentA man who balks at spending a buck on a map...
...shouldn't be accusing others of being cheapskates.
So tourists can jump in their cars and spend $3-$4 on gas
but you want to boo-hoo over a buck? I have a suggestion, stay home!
Isn't the visitor center ran
Isn't the visitor center ran by the Chamber of Commerce? I don't think the state has anything to do with it.
Need to have the right facts...
First off the real "cheapskate" is you! Regarding some of your numbers however, they need some correcting. In 2006 the Explore Minnesota Tourism budget was $10.9 million dollars but in the 2010 budget it had dropped to $8.9 million and will be around $8 million by 2013. Minnesota's budget ranks 32 out of the 50 states and we are outspent by all of our neighbors, the Wisconsin Dells alone outspends Minnesota! About 55% of that budget is actually funded by private industry investment. Minnesota's tourism is our third largest business and generates about 650 million in tax dollars for the state, or about 70 times more than the EMT budget, and accounts for about 15% of all Minnesota Tax revenue. The maps actually cost more than a dollar and while they are subsidized by some advertising they would still account for a large portion of the budget if just given away. I don't think it is a big price to pay for a quality map while allowing EMT to utilize that budget to advertise not only outside the state but also doing some overseas advertising as well to help expand this already very important industry for our state.
maps
You can get a free one sent to you. Go to exploreminnesota.com. That way it will cost the state postage plus the handling. They won't hand you a free one at the counter but they will send you one free by mail. Typical government.
That is 44 cents well paid if
That is 44 cents well paid if that person happens to be interested in traveling the state. Gotta spend money to make money. Besides, GPS will make the number of printed maps drastically decline.