Bristol makes tourism marketing switch

After 38 years, Bristol, Virginia, has switched destination marketing organizations.

On June 13, City Council passed a resolution designating Bristol Regional Tourism Marketing Corp., better known as Explore Bristol, as its new DMO, the agency responsible for promoting the area to tourists. The former DMO, Discover Bristol, operated by the Bristol Chamber of Commerce, will lose $35,000 in annual state grants from Virginia Tourism Corp. due to the change.

Mayor Neal Osborne says that Explore Bristol, which has served as the DMO for neighboring Bristol, Tennessee, since 2021, is “fighting above its weight class,” already surpassing Discover Bristol in key social media metrics, such as Facebook likes. “To be producing those kinds of results over that short of a time frame … that’s impressive,” Osborne says.

Tourism is a linchpin for the Bristol region, which is known for its NASCAR speedway, the Rhythm & Roots music festival, a new Hard Rock casino and the Virginia city’s history as the birthplace of country music. It’s not uncommon to see visitors snapping photos of themselves in the middle of Bristol’s famous State Street, straddling the Virginia-Tennessee state border dividing the twin Bristols.

Explore Bristol Executive Director Matt Bolas says his group’s strategies have led to record lodging tax collections in Bristol, Tennessee, and he’s “hoping we can also have those successes … in the future for Bristol, Virginia.”

Despite its tourism draws, Bristol, Virginia, is strapped for cash, says Osborne, due to ongoing maintenance of a local landfill following a May 2022 lawsuit by Bristol, Tennessee, regarding the landfill’s environmental impact. In its budget last year, Bristol, Virginia, appropriated more than $7.7 million to its solid waste disposal enterprise fund, and the expense climbed to over $37.2 million for the city’s 2023-2024 budget.

Explore Bristol presented a more affordable option for the city, which will pay $100,000 for a voting seat on Explore Bristol’s board, compared with the $200,000 that Discover Bristol was requesting for the coming fiscal year.

Beth Rhinehart, the chamber’s president and CEO, says Discover Bristol will continue to support area tourism, leveraging partnerships it has developed over the past few decades.

“Because of the dire financial, economic situation for Bristol, Virginia,” she says, “regardless of the results, it’s easy to make a decision … to go with the cheaper alternative.