The approval came from City Council during a June 22 meeting, and allocates $58,000 from the city's hotel occupancy tax fund for the first year. Further funding for the project will be subject to an annual review each year after the first year.
Shontel Mays, president and CEO of the Pflugerville Chamber of Commerce, presented officials with the plan to create a CVB.
As part of the chamber's plan, the first year would build a foundation for a tourism program through a process that includes forming a visitors center and a tourism council.
The second year would focus on sharing the city's brand and gaining visibility. That would include utilzation of social meda campaigns, updating the city's branding and distributing maps for visitors.
The plan's third year centers on reflecting Pflugerville as a tourist destination, which would include developing an annual festival or event, creating a print advertising campaign and potentially hiring a full-time staff.
Terri Toledo, Pflugerville's communications director, stated via email that the city's capacity for tourism is growing quickly.
Regarding hotel space, Toledo said the city has Courtyard by Marriott, which has 147 rooms, Best Western Plus has 70 rooms, and Home 2 by Hilton, which opened in May, has 180 rooms.
"We have Holiday Inn Express set to open soon with 86 rooms, and the La Quinta/Hawthorne Suite with 103 rooms [is] anticipated in 2022," Toledo said. "So we will go from 397 current hotel rooms to 586 rooms."
