News

Learn more about becoming a member of VNPA...

Changes at Travel Info Center Near Voyageurs?

From The Timberjay, 3/13/08:

Orr contemplates closing Travel Information Center for part of the year
By Tom Klein

Orr’s Travel Information Center may close for part of the year to cut operating costs.
TIC Director Roni Carr raised the possibility at Monday’s council meeting, and is expected to discuss the idea further at the TIC Board meeting later this month.

The center is on the verge of exhausting its reserves, Carr told the council, and will have depleted the fund by 2009 if action is not taken. Orr City Clerk Louise Redmond estimated there is currently about $12,000 in the TIC’s reserve.

Carr has already cut her hours and suggested keeping the center open from Memorial Day to Labor Day only would keep the operation in the black.

The center took a blow financially when the Minnesota Office of Tourism withdrew its funding after 2003. The TIC had received $27,528 from the state during a one-year contract approved in May 2002. That contract was extended in 2003 but discontinued after that year.

Tim Campbell, manager of the Office of Tourism’s Northeast Region, blamed a state budget crunch for the decision.

Meanwhile, repair projects at the center have further eroded the reserves that the center was able to bank.

Funding for the center comes from the city and TIC Board members. The city contributes $7,350 annually for maintenance while members, which include the communities of International Falls, Crane Lake and Ash River, Voyageurs National Park and Pelican Lake Resort Association, also contribute annual fees.

The center had adjusted membership fees recently and also collects income from advertising kiosks and book and clothing sales.

Mayor Dale Long asked Carr to consider the possibility of renting space at the center to other parties to help generate additional income for the center.

Redmond emphasized that no decision has been made yet on how to proceed and ideas for generating revenue for the center or reducing costs will have to be floated by the TIC Board, which is scheduled to meet next on March 25.

“Nothing has been decided,” said Redmond, “but we’re just trying to be proactive and address this before the center ends up in the red.”