1. Can the north valley governments show any worse behavior than what's happening right now?
2. If the 1% LOT is passed, how will the money be spent?
> By a committee appointed by all valley governments (two of which are dysfunctional)?
> By the Sun Valley Marketing Alliance which has yet to do anything of significance with its (limited) budget?
> By an ad agency hired from a big city that knows nothing about our particular resort dynamics?
> By Fly Sun Valley, creating thereby yet another agency responsible for promoting our area with no demonstrated plan to do so.
Since these questions as yet have no answer, how can we possibly and reasonably start to spend money in January 2013, as Fly Sun Valley suggests, if the LOT is passed this November? How can we possibly have a decent infrastructure in place before it's too late to market our winter season and perhaps even our summer season!
I feel we should wait another year and make forward-thinking plans for how the LOT will be administered and by whom - between now and next November (2013). With a good plan, I anticipate the 1% LOT sailing through. As of now, we would seriously regret putting the cart before the horse, as we often do, and finding ourselves in yet another political muddle with all its recriminations.
Yes, it would be great to have an additional flight per day and additional filled passenger seats from Seattle and Los Angeles, but there is no way we can get them this year without just throwing money at the airlines - given the lack of a marketing infrastructure. And we run the risk of, once again, wasteful use of the little money we do have to promote ourselves. Meanwhile, Horizon is going to have greater passenger capacity this year. Let's see how that pans out and get on with a 1% LOT campaign for next year.
Until next week...Jima Rice
