The Texas Renaissance Festival is looking to partner with The Woodlands to serve as an overnight destination for festival visitors.[/caption]

Officials from the Texas Renaissance Festival are looking to The Woodlands as an overnight destination for out-of-town visitors coming to the annual event each fall.

During The Woodlands Convention and Visitor’s Bureau board meeting May 4, festival representative Travis Bryant asked the board to consider a partnership in which The Woodlands would be promoted as a destination partner in all festival advertising. Additionally, the festival would promote participating hotels in The Woodlands through its website and feature The Woodlands CVB logo online and in its souvenir program.

In return, Bryant proposed that The Woodlands CVB would promote the festival and coordinate with area hotels. Furthermore, The Woodlands would serve as a shuttle bus destination for festivalgoers.

“The Woodlands has become the closest destination location to the Texas Renaissance Festival,” Bryant said. “You have a lot of facilities that would be good for our guests to have a place to stay and eat when they are not at the festival.”

Roughly 25 percent of festival visitors travel from outside the Greater Houston area, primarily from Austin, Waco or San Antonio, Bryant said.

“There are two hotels in the Magnolia area that have limited rooms and there is a La Quinta [Inn and Suites] at FM 2978 and FM 1488, but there’s no one close to us,” he said. “That’s our challenge, it’s a long drive to get there from anywhere.”

Bryant said traffic is also one of the biggest challenges for the festival, which is why a shuttle bus would be beneficial.

“If you have 40,000 people trying to get in and out on two lanes of FM 1774, at times that can create some tremendous waits,” he said. “If you have a place where people can park their car and ride a bus and eliminate the number of cars coming in and out … that only makes things better for all of our guests.”

CVB board chairman Gordy Bunch said that while The Woodlands Township board of directors would need to ultimately approve usage of its park and ride facilities, there is a lot to discuss on the proposed partnership.

“I like the concept of being marketed alongside a successful program that helps build awareness for our properties,” Bunch said.

The Texas Renaissance Festival began in 1974 and lasts for eight weeks every fall. More than 500,000 visitors attend the festival annually, which is held roughly 25 miles northwest of The Woodlands.

The board did not take any action regarding the proposal during the May 4 meeting but is interested in revisiting the topic at a future meeting.