Funding request approved for Jamestown Tourism to help recruit visitors

The Jamestown Sun, N.D.
·2 min read

Oct. 9—JAMESTOWN — The Jamestown/Stutsman Development Corp. Board of Directors unanimously approved on Tuesday, Oct. 9, a request of $125,000 for Jamestown Tourism to assist tourism sites to recruit visitors to the city and the surrounding community.

If approved by the Jamestown City Council and Stutsman County Commission, the city's share will be $100,000 while the county's share will be $25,000.

Jamestown Tourism will use the funds to help get more visitors to its website, said Warren Abrahamson, marketing manager. He said Jamestown Tourism's website is where visitors will get the most information on what to do in Jamestown.

He also said the funds could be used to help explore more campaigns with Google and Bing. He said Jamestown Tourism has increased its search engine optimization to help people find information about Jamestown.

Abrahamson said the funds provided by JSDC last year helped increase Jamestown Tourism's brand awareness and grew its digital presence. He also said the funding helped ensure Jamestown, North Dakota, was the correct Jamestown people are looking for.

The hotel and restaurant taxes received by Jamestown Tourism this year were more through the first six months than in the same period in 2021 and 2022, said Emily Bivens, executive director of the Jamestown Area Chamber of Commerce and Jamestown Tourism.

Bivens also said 76% of people visit a city before they decide to move there.

"Potentially our visitors could become part of our workforce, part of our community and further build our economy," she said.

In other business, the JSDC Board of Directors unanimously approved a PACE interest buydown for more than $128,000 for RTS Shearing LLC to expand its current facility near its location.

If approved by the City Council and county commission, the city's share would be about $103,000 and the county's would be over $25,700.

Alyssa Looysen, director of business development at JSDC, said the expansion includes the construction of shop space that will increase space for maintenance and repairs to large equipment. The expansion will create new jobs in the community and will allow RTS Shearing to take on contracts to maintain or repair large equipment for out-of-town businesses.