The Sacramento Convention and Visitors Bureau is promoting the city and county at fewer trade shows in part because of recent budget cuts from the county government, according to bureau spokesman Mike Testa. The county dedicated $244,000 to the bureau for the 2009 / 2010 fiscal year, down from $404,000 it allocated to the group last year.

In 2007, the county gave $704,000 to the bureau, Testa said.

The bureau’s main responsibility is to attract visitors to stay at hotels in the Sacramento area, Testa said. He pointed out that the county will receive less revenue as a result of its cuts to the bureau. Of its four funding sources, the bureau receives the lowest amount of funding from the county, according to Testa.

The bureau is funded by the city and county governments, fees assessed on hotel guests, private sponsorships and revenue from events, he said. The city also has scaled back its funding, and revenue to the bureau from hotel fees has dropped. The total of budget cuts from the city and county and lower hotel fees is about $750,000, Testa said.

Tourism contributed $2.4 billion to the local economy during the 2008 / 2009 fiscal year, Testa said. He also noted that the bureau returns $25 for every dollar invested by the city and county.

County leaders “really don’t have a choice” about many of the cuts they’re making, Testa said. But, he added, in the “big picture” view, the county will take in less money from by cutting funding to a revenue generator, he said. The bureau creates revenue for the county in “a time of economic turmoil,” Testa said. 

The county definitely is in economic turmoil  — officials have laid off more than 700 workers since July. 

Rob Leonard, the county’s director of economic development, said the bureau supports activities more in the city than in the unincorporated areas of the county. 

The county didn’t cut funding to the bureau entirely, Leonard pointed out. And a number of organizations received cuts equivalent to those of the bureau, he said.

“The role [the bureau] plays is clearly valued," Leonard said, "and we want to continue to support them.”

Testa said the county has been and remains a “good partner” with the bureau.

Although funding to the bureau from local governments and hotel fees is down, revenue to the bureau from sponsorships is up, Testa said. The bureau puts on special events that provide companies with the target audiences they’re looking for, he said.

Kathleen Haley is a staff writer for The Sacramento Press.