Angelica Ramos
Contributing Writer
CHRISTIANSBURG- The Christiansburg Town Council discussed and voted on not separating from the Montgomery-Blacksburg-Christiansburg Regional Tourism Office just yet.
Tourism has been a topic in which the Christiansburg Town Council is very passionate about. Some members of the town council see being part of the regional tourism office as wasted money going towards changes that they don’t see. Others see these grievances as a chance to communicate more clearly what they expect and want to see in terms of tourism in Christiansburg.
The August 27, 2024 meeting agenda explained the Montgomery-Blacksburg-Christiansburg Regional Tourism Office was formed in 2011 and is funded by one percent of each town’s lodging tax. The Regional Tourism Office became a stand-alone office in 2014 and allows the towns to keep 15% of the one percent lodging tax revenue. Christiansburg has many hotels, restaurants and much of the chain-store shopping in Montgomery County, so tourists tend to lodge and shop in Christiansburg. However, some Christiansburg residents and government officials have said they don’t see the effects of tourism they’d like to see.
During the Aug. 27, 2024 meeting, Council Member Johanna Hicks made a motion to withdraw from the regional tourism office and potentially reallocate those funds elsewhere for Christiansburg. The motion was seconded and town council began discussing what the impact of withdrawing would change in the long run.
“I started two and a half years ago,” Council Member Tim Wilson said, “talking about how I didn’t think we were getting what we deserved out of tourism and was a catalyst for pushing this ball forward. I think we owe tourism, at this point as a council, is what we do want from tourism regardless of who we’re giving the money to.”
Council Member Tim Wilson and Council Member Tanya Hockett, during discussion, both said that they think as a town council, may be better to sit down and discuss what they want, strategically present that to tourism and try to better manage tourism for Christiansburg.
Council voted against the motion to withdraw with the intention to continue to discuss the issue in the next work session and spell out what successful tourism would look like for Christiansburg.
