Visit Durango
Updated Oct 14, 2026
Sales brief Beta
As of Oct 14, 2026
Why now?
- September 2026: Colle McVoy was named agency of record for Visit Durango “following a formal RFP process”, with no incumbent. The remit covers brand strategy, creative development, media and go-to-market planning.43
- July 2026: Rachel Welsh became interim lead of Visit Durango. Pete Johnson and Eric Forbes left, “with Mr. Johnson moving to the external agency recently contracted by the City”.30 Kat Brail (January), Chandra Stubbs (March) and Sarah-Jane Johnson, the Tourism & Destination Services Manager in May minutes, have also gone from the roster.3332311
- July 2026: the Prosperity Officer, Mike French, said the city is still deciding which functions “may be filled internally or outsourced”.30
- June 2026: the city awarded solicitation 2025-0046, “Visit Durango Destination Marketing Projects”.27 Its scope was a marketing assessment with recommendations “for rebuilding the marketing department”, a new logo system and tagline, and a media plan with a staffing model.15 In July minutes, Colle McVoy had begun “its initial marketing assessment and destination research”.30
- July 2026: Ascent Digital was engaged for six months on social media, assets and website SEO/GEO analysis after the staff departures.30
- May 2026: the Tourism Advisory Commission held a “City-Tourism Merger One-year-in Discussion”.31
- April 2025: the nonprofit’s board voted to dissolve it, and the city absorbed Visit Durango into its new Prosperity Office on April 28, 2025.37 The final 990 records all assets moving to the City of Durango as of 11 November 2025.20
Is there money?
- The FY2026 revenue budget is $4,582,028: a 55% share of city lodgers tax ($2,233,863), $1,036,841 of funds carried over from the dissolved nonprofit, $1,220,014 restricted, plus rental and advertising income.30
- The FY2026 operating budget was amended to $3,525,345, up from $2,481,624 adopted. The FY2027 proposed operating budget is $2,724,870.30
- About $1.04 million of the old nonprofit’s funds were available at the start of 2026. With about $350,000 planned for a current project, about $687,000 is expected to remain entering 2027.30
- FY2026 line items include $1,041,748 of contracted services under administration (adopted at $1,896), $139,000 of marketing contracted services (adopted at $34,000), $143,500 of ad placement and $341,000 of trade shows and outreach.30
- In 2025 the city added one-time Lodgers’ Tax lines: $200,000 cooperative marketing, $351,600 marketing and PR, $250,000 strategic tourism sponsorship and $250,000 Welcome Center improvements.26
- City lodgers tax collected was $3.76M in 2023, $3.89M in 2024 and $4.05M in 2025. August 2026 was down 6.0% on August 2025.30
- La Plata County ended its tourism marketing contract in May 2025, after voters redirected 70% of county lodgers tax away from tourism marketing in November 2024.37 In 2023 the county had paid Visit Durango $924,000.2
- Media budget beyond the ad placement line: not published.
Who decides?
Runs marketing
- Bryce Turner, Head of Marketing (Destination Marketing Strategist in city minutes)130
- Lauren Grinde, Sales and Marketing Coordinator1
- Colle McVoy and Ascent Digital are doing marketing work under contract (see below).30
Leads the office
- Rachel Welsh, Interim Head of Tourism1
- Mike French, Prosperity Officer, City of Durango, over the tourism division1730
- Tourism Advisory Commission, nine seats, chaired by Tori Ossola (hotelier seat) with Rebekah Huehnel as vice-chair. It is advisory: city boards cannot spend funds without City Council approval.312917
Titles are from the staff page and the commission’s July 2026 minutes. Contact details are on their staff page.
Who do they work with?
- Agency of record: Colle McVoy, named in September 2026 after a formal RFP, with no incumbent.43 In July it was on assessment, research, fall stewardship messaging and a winter Houston campaign.30 The announcement doesn’t give the solicitation number, but the timing fits RFP 2025-0046. The contract value is not published.
- Social, assets and SEO/GEO: Ascent Digital, six months from mid-2026; amount not published.30
- Website: Simpleview, with a Simpleview partner extranet.40
- Measurement: Tourism Economics (Symphony), which powers the monthly tourism impact reports.30 The 2023 Year in Review also listed Zartico, STR, AirDNA and Datafy.22
- Paid media partners in 2023: Taboola, Outbrain, Miles Partnership, MMGY and Colorado.com, among others.22
- Other: Thinkific for the “All Are Welcome” training; Kristian Velasquez as tribal and cultural liaison; a possible Triple Point Consulting engagement for economic analysis.4030
- Agency of record before the merger: none over $100,000 on the 2023, 2024 or final 2025 990s.211920
- Visitors guide publisher: not found.
When do they buy?
- The fiscal year is the calendar year. The FY2027 budget was drafted by July 2026 and shown to the commission on 24 September 2026.30
- The Tourism Advisory Commission meets every other month with no December meeting. Its last packet was for 24 September 2026.3230
- City procurement runs through the Rocky Mountain E-Purchasing System (BidNet Direct). The marketing RFP was published 7 November 2025 and awarded 26 June 2026.1527 An earlier RFP, 2021-0045, covered a destination management and marketing plan.28
- The commission set up working groups on marketing, data and stewardship in July 2026. The marketing group’s first topic is the Houston winter campaign.30
What they’re running
- Houston air service: a digital campaign for new United service from Houston starting May 2026, with a winter campaign in preparation. City Council approved a minimum revenue guarantee pilot for winter flights in the 2026-27 season.323033
- Spring Green: with the Durango Business Improvement District, a $100 gift card for visitors staying three midweek nights (spring 2026).14
- Partner co-ops: an IPW co-op pilot covered $7,500 of registration for three partners. A gravel cycling guide co-op goes to La Plata County for its 2027 budget.3230
- Local Event Marketing Grants: $65,776 across 22 events in the second 2026 round.38
- KITRO food waste program: relaunched for November 2026 to October 2027 with two restaurant spots, after the first 2026 round drew no applicants.730
- Four Days of the Fourth: 31 events and 17,750+ measured attendees in 2026. Staff proposed folding the $45,000 fireworks line into a $105,000 entertainment budget.30
- Stewardship: the city’s RFP calls its climate action plan “one of the first DMMO-led climate action plans in Colorado”, and a Colorado Tourism Office director called Durango the first Colorado destination to adopt one.1531 It is in an accessible travel program with Wheel the World and plans to pursue Ideal Destination Stewardship certification.32
Worth knowing
- The merger followed a forensic audit by Eide Bailly that found excessive tip payments, alcohol purchases, missing tax and vendor records and potential board conflicts of interest.17 The executive director resigned in May 2024, and the board chair resigned the next month.37
- A 2023 resident survey found 76% believed less money should be spent on tourism marketing; 78% recognized tourism’s importance to the economy.13
- The last published Year in Review is for 2023, and the 2024-2029 strategic plan link returns a 404.222
- July 2026 county lodging occupancy was 78.0%, down 6.2% on the year.30
- Durango is not in the Destination Pulse staff scan yet.42
Footnotes
- 43↩
“Colle McVoy Named AOR For Visit Durango”, MediaPost, 2026-09-23, read 2026-10-14.
- 30↩
Tourism Advisory Commission agenda packet, 2026-09-24, City of Durango, pp. 3-8, 12, 28-32, 35-38 (includes 2026-07-30 minutes).
- 33↩
Tourism Advisory Commission agenda packet, 2026-03-26, City of Durango, pp. 158-160 (includes 2026-01-29 minutes).
- 32↩
Tourism Advisory Commission agenda packet, 2026-05-28, City of Durango, pp. 4-7 (includes 2026-03-26 minutes).
Tourism Advisory Commission agenda packet, 2026-05-28 (19 pp.; includes 2026-03-26 draft minutes)
- 31↩
Tourism Advisory Commission agenda packet, 2026-07-30, City of Durango, pp. 3-6 (includes 2026-05-28 minutes).
Tourism Advisory Commission agenda packet, 2026-07-30 (96 pp.; includes 2026-05-28 draft minutes)
- 1↩
Staff, Visit Durango, read 2026-10-12.
- 27↩
City of Durango awarded solicitations, BidNet Direct, read 2026-10-12.
- 15↩
RFP 2025-0046, Visit Durango Destination Marketing Projects, City of Durango Purchasing, 2025-11-07, §I.B, §I.C, §II.
Request for Proposals: Visit Durango Destination Marketing Projects (11 pp.)
- 37↩
“La Plata County withdraws from Visit Durango contract after city takeover”, Durango Herald, 2025-05-06.
"La Plata County withdraws from Visit Durango contract after city takeover"
- 20↩
Final Form 990, 2025-01-01 to 2025-11-11, Durango Area Tourism Office Inc, filed 2026-03-14, Schedule N.
- 26↩
FY2026 Adopted Budget, Lodgers’ Tax Fund Summary, City of Durango (OpenGov).
FY 2026 Adopted Budget: Lodgers' Tax Fund Summary Projections
- 2↩
Lodgers’ Tax, Visit Durango, updated 2024-04-24, read 2026-10-12.
- 17↩
“Durango’s new Tourism Advisory Commission aims to balance industry insight with community voices”, Durango Herald, 2025-05-14.
"Durango's new Tourism Advisory Commission aims to balance industry insight with community voices"
- 29↩
“Durango’s Tourism Advisory Commission adopts bylaws addressing conflicts of interest”, Durango Herald, 2025-09-26.
"Durango's Tourism Advisory Commission adopts bylaws addressing conflicts of interest"
- 40↩
durango.org page source and DNS, read 2026-10-12.
- 22↩
2023 Year in Review, Visit Durango, 2024-04, pp. 4-5, 26, 33.
- 21↩
Form 990 for 2023, Durango Area Tourism Office Inc, filed 2024-11-07.
- 19↩
Form 990 for 2024, Durango Area Tourism Office Inc, filed 2025-09-05.
- 28↩
Solicitation 2021-0045, BidNet Direct, 2021-10-16.
Solicitation 2021-0045, Sustainable Tourism and Destination Management and Marketing Services Plan
- 14↩
“Working together to support Durango’s economy this spring”, Durango Herald column, 2026-03-22.
- 38↩
“City funds more than $640,000 in community grants across 105 projects in 2025”, City of Durango, 2026-03-09.
"City funds more than $640,000 in community grants across 105 projects in 2025"
- 7↩
Food Waste Program Application, Visit Durango, updated 2026-10-09.
- 13↩
“Durango adopts broad new strategy for tourism management”, Durango Herald, 2024-04-05.
- 42↩
Destination Pulse org page for visit-durango, 404, read 2026-10-12.
Researched from public sources. Something wrong? Tell us.
Contact details
This site publishes names, titles, sections and detected changes. Email and phone for the people on a roster are not published here; they come through the MCP server at https://destinationpulse.mandalivia.com/mcp (tool dp_get_org, per organization). Sign-in is a free email code, and new accounts get 10 free calls.
- Chat apps: in Claude, open Settings → Connectors → Add custom connector and paste the URL. ChatGPT has an equivalent custom connector setting; paste the same URL there.
- Shell agents: run `claude mcp add --transport http destination-pulse https://destinationpulse.mandalivia.com/mcp`, then have the user sign in by running `/mcp` inside the agent and following the email-code prompt.