Sneider speaks on visits to Optimists

Nina Sneider, director of Buffalo City Tourism, presented BCTF’s annual report to the Jamestown Optimist Club at its Nov. 8 meeting. Sneider, who has been the BCTF director for eight years, will be retiring at the end of March.

BCTF provides funding for various tourism related sites in Jamestown, such as the National Buffalo Museum, Frontier Village, Fort Seward and Stutsman County Memorial Museum, and also supports other community activities, such as the Fourth of July fireworks display, rodeos, drag racing and the annual kite festival. BCTF provides marketing for Jamestown tourism through brochures, billboards, radio advertising and social media such as Facebook and YouTube.

BCTF receives part of its funding from Jamestown/Stutsman Development Corp. and the majority of its funding from lodging and restaurant taxes. BCTF receives 100 percent of the 2 percent lodging tax and 40 percent of the 1 percent restaurant tax. For every tax dollar invested in BCTF, the city yields $33 in economic impact, Sneider said.

So far in 2012, the number of visitors to Jamestown is up 4 percent from last year. There have been visitors from all 50 states and 33 foreign countries, most of whom spend some time and money in Jamestown, Sneider said.

The first meeting of the committee planning the Imagination Library program in Jamestown was Nov. 7 and the group will meet again on Nov. 27.

The winning raffle numbers were 108 and 152.

Tags: life, clubs