--- title: "Visit Durango profile | Destination Pulse" description: "Durango's tourism office, run by the City of Durango since April 2025, when the nonprofit Visit Durango was dissolved into the city's Prosperity Office. It runs on a 55% share of city lodgers tax ($2.23M in 2026), and Colle McVoy was named its agency of record in September 2026 while an interim head leads a reduced team." canonical: https://destinationpulse.mandalivia.com/org/visit-durango/ --- > This is the Markdown twin of https://destinationpulse.mandalivia.com/org/visit-durango/ — an index of all Markdown pages is at https://destinationpulse.mandalivia.com/llms.txt. # Visit Durango Not monitored. Profile 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.[^s43] - **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".[^s30] Kat Brail (January), Chandra Stubbs (March) and Sarah-Jane Johnson, the Tourism & Destination Services Manager in May minutes, have also gone from the roster.[^s33][^s32][^s31][^s1] - **July 2026:** the Prosperity Officer, Mike French, said the city is still deciding which functions "may be filled internally or outsourced".[^s30] - **June 2026:** the city awarded solicitation 2025-0046, "Visit Durango Destination Marketing Projects".[^s27] 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.[^s15] In July minutes, Colle McVoy had begun "its initial marketing assessment and destination research".[^s30] - **July 2026:** Ascent Digital was engaged for six months on social media, assets and website SEO/GEO analysis after the staff departures.[^s30] - **May 2026:** the Tourism Advisory Commission held a "City-Tourism Merger One-year-in Discussion".[^s31] - **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.[^s37] The final 990 records all assets moving to the City of Durango as of 11 November 2025.[^s20] ## 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.[^s30] - 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.[^s30] - 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.[^s30] - 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.[^s30] - 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.[^s26] - 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.[^s30] - 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.[^s37] In 2023 the county had paid Visit Durango $924,000.[^s2] - Media budget beyond the ad placement line: not published. ## Who decides? **Runs marketing** - Bryce Turner, Head of Marketing (Destination Marketing Strategist in city minutes)[^s1][^s30] - Lauren Grinde, Sales and Marketing Coordinator[^s1] - Colle McVoy and Ascent Digital are doing marketing work under contract (see below).[^s30] **Leads the office** - Rachel Welsh, Interim Head of Tourism[^s1] - Mike French, Prosperity Officer, City of Durango, over the tourism division[^s17][^s30] - 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.[^s31][^s29][^s17] Titles are from the staff page and the commission's July 2026 minutes. Contact details are on [their staff page](https://www.durango.org/about/staff/). ## Who do they work with? - **Agency of record:** Colle McVoy, named in September 2026 after a formal RFP, with no incumbent.[^s43] In July it was on assessment, research, fall stewardship messaging and a winter Houston campaign.[^s30] 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.[^s30] - **Website:** Simpleview, with a Simpleview partner extranet.[^s40] - **Measurement:** Tourism Economics (Symphony), which powers the monthly tourism impact reports.[^s30] The 2023 Year in Review also listed Zartico, STR, AirDNA and Datafy.[^s22] - **Paid media partners in 2023:** Taboola, Outbrain, Miles Partnership, MMGY and Colorado.com, among others.[^s22] - **Other:** Thinkific for the "All Are Welcome" training; Kristian Velasquez as tribal and cultural liaison; a possible Triple Point Consulting engagement for economic analysis.[^s40][^s30] - **Agency of record before the merger:** none over $100,000 on the 2023, 2024 or final 2025 990s.[^s21][^s19][^s20] - **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.[^s30] - The Tourism Advisory Commission meets every other month with no December meeting. Its last packet was for 24 September 2026.[^s32][^s30] - 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.[^s15][^s27] An earlier RFP, 2021-0045, covered a destination management and marketing plan.[^s28] - 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.[^s30] ## 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.[^s32][^s30][^s33] - **Spring Green:** with the Durango Business Improvement District, a $100 gift card for visitors staying three midweek nights (spring 2026).[^s14] - **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.[^s32][^s30] - **Local Event Marketing Grants:** $65,776 across 22 events in the second 2026 round.[^s38] - **KITRO food waste program:** relaunched for November 2026 to October 2027 with two restaurant spots, after the first 2026 round drew no applicants.[^s7][^s30] - **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.[^s30] - **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.[^s15][^s31] It is in an accessible travel program with Wheel the World and plans to pursue Ideal Destination Stewardship certification.[^s32] ## 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.[^s17] The executive director resigned in May 2024, and the board chair resigned the next month.[^s37] - A 2023 resident survey found 76% believed less money should be spent on tourism marketing; 78% recognized tourism's importance to the economy.[^s13] - The last published Year in Review is for 2023, and the 2024-2029 strategic plan link returns a 404.[^s22][^s2] - July 2026 county lodging occupancy was 78.0%, down 6.2% on the year.[^s30] - Durango is not in the Destination Pulse staff scan yet.[^s42] [^s1]: Staff, Visit Durango, read 2026-10-12. [^s2]: Lodgers' Tax, Visit Durango, updated 2024-04-24, read 2026-10-12. [^s7]: Food Waste Program Application, Visit Durango, updated 2026-10-09. [^s13]: "Durango adopts broad new strategy for tourism management", Durango Herald, 2024-04-05. [^s14]: "Working together to support Durango's economy this spring", Durango Herald column, 2026-03-22. [^s15]: RFP 2025-0046, Visit Durango Destination Marketing Projects, City of Durango Purchasing, 2025-11-07, §I.B, §I.C, §II. [^s17]: "Durango's new Tourism Advisory Commission aims to balance industry insight with community voices", Durango Herald, 2025-05-14. [^s19]: Form 990 for 2024, Durango Area Tourism Office Inc, filed 2025-09-05. [^s20]: Final Form 990, 2025-01-01 to 2025-11-11, Durango Area Tourism Office Inc, filed 2026-03-14, Schedule N. [^s21]: Form 990 for 2023, Durango Area Tourism Office Inc, filed 2024-11-07. [^s22]: 2023 Year in Review, Visit Durango, 2024-04, pp. 4-5, 26, 33. [^s26]: FY2026 Adopted Budget, Lodgers' Tax Fund Summary, City of Durango (OpenGov). [^s27]: City of Durango awarded solicitations, BidNet Direct, read 2026-10-12. [^s28]: Solicitation 2021-0045, BidNet Direct, 2021-10-16. [^s29]: "Durango's Tourism Advisory Commission adopts bylaws addressing conflicts of interest", Durango Herald, 2025-09-26. [^s30]: Tourism Advisory Commission agenda packet, 2026-09-24, City of Durango, pp. 3-8, 12, 28-32, 35-38 (includes 2026-07-30 minutes). [^s31]: Tourism Advisory Commission agenda packet, 2026-07-30, City of Durango, pp. 3-6 (includes 2026-05-28 minutes). [^s32]: Tourism Advisory Commission agenda packet, 2026-05-28, City of Durango, pp. 4-7 (includes 2026-03-26 minutes). [^s33]: Tourism Advisory Commission agenda packet, 2026-03-26, City of Durango, pp. 158-160 (includes 2026-01-29 minutes). [^s37]: "La Plata County withdraws from Visit Durango contract after city takeover", Durango Herald, 2025-05-06. [^s38]: "City funds more than $640,000 in community grants across 105 projects in 2025", City of Durango, 2026-03-09. [^s40]: durango.org page source and DNS, read 2026-10-12. [^s42]: Destination Pulse org page for visit-durango, 404, read 2026-10-12. [^s43]: "Colle McVoy Named AOR For Visit Durango", MediaPost, 2026-09-23, read 2026-10-14. ## Sources - S1: Staff (Visit Durango (durango.org), sitemap lastmod 2026-07-24) - S2: Lodgers' Tax (Visit Durango, sitemap lastmod 2024-04-24) - S3: Our Mission (Visit Durango, sitemap lastmod 2023-08-22) - S4: Tourism Impact Dashboard (Visit Durango, read 2026-10-12) - S5: Partner Resources (Visit Durango, sitemap lastmod 2026-05-29) - S6: Food Waste Program (KITRO) (Visit Durango, sitemap lastmod 2026-10-08) - S7: Food Waste Program Application (Visit Durango, sitemap lastmod 2026-10-09) - S8: Durango Impact and Resiliency Grant (Visit Durango, read 2026-10-12) - S9: Lodger's Tax Local Event Marketing Grant (Visit Durango, read 2026-10-12) - S10: "All Are Welcome" Frontline Worker Training (Visit Durango, sitemap lastmod 2026-05-29) - S11: Press Room (Visit Durango, sitemap lastmod 2023-04-06) - S12: durango.org sitemap (Visit Durango, read 2026-10-12) - S13: "Durango adopts broad new strategy for tourism management" (Durango Herald (Christian Burney), published 2024-04-05) - S14: "Working together to support Durango's economy this spring" (Durango Herald column (Sarah-Jane Johnson), published 2026-03-22) - S15: Request for Proposals: Visit Durango Destination Marketing Projects (11 pp.) (City of Durango Purchasing, published 2025-11-07) - S16: "Resolution would begin merger of city with Visit Durango" (Durango Herald (Christian Burney), published 2025-01-21) - S17: "Durango's new Tourism Advisory Commission aims to balance industry insight with community voices" (Durango Herald (Christian Burney), published 2025-05-14) - S18: Durango Area Tourism Office Inc (EIN 56-2307921), filing list (ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer, read 2026-10-12) - S19: Form 990, FY ending 2024-12-31, Durango Area Tourism Office Inc (e-file XML, object 202542489349301309, filed 2025-09-05) (IRS via GivingTuesday 990 data lake, read 2026-10-12) - S20: Form 990 (final return), tax period 2025-01-01 to 2025-11-11, Durango Area Tourism Office Inc (e-file XML, object 202600739349301105, filed 2026-03-14) (IRS via GivingTuesday 990 data lake, read 2026-10-12) - S21: Form 990, FY ending 2023-12-31, Durango Area Tourism Office Inc (e-file XML, object 202423129349302112, filed 2024-11-07) (IRS via GivingTuesday 990 data lake, read 2026-10-12) - S22: 2023 Year in Review (35-page PDF, printed as spreads) (Visit Durango, published 2024-04 (PDF created 2024-04-08)) - S23: 2023 Strategic Brief (2-page PDF) (Visit Durango, created 2023-08-22) - S24: Policy & Action Plan (Visit Durango, read 2026-10-12) - S25: FY 2026 Adopted Budget: Tourism Office (Visit Durango) (City of Durango (OpenGov), adopted for FY2026) - S26: FY 2026 Adopted Budget: Lodgers' Tax Fund Summary Projections (City of Durango (OpenGov), adopted for FY2026) - S27: City of Durango awarded solicitations (lists 2025-0046) (BidNet Direct / Rocky Mountain E-Purchasing System, read 2026-10-12) - S28: Solicitation 2021-0045, Sustainable Tourism and Destination Management and Marketing Services Plan (BidNet Direct, published 2021-10-16) - S29: "Durango's Tourism Advisory Commission adopts bylaws addressing conflicts of interest" (Durango Herald (Christian Burney), published 2025-09-26) - S30: Tourism Advisory Commission agenda packet, 2026-09-24 (40 pp.; includes 2026-07-30 draft minutes and DM&M Financial Report) (City of Durango (OnBase Agenda Online, meeting 8223), published 2026-09) - S31: Tourism Advisory Commission agenda packet, 2026-07-30 (96 pp.; includes 2026-05-28 draft minutes) (City of Durango (meeting 8222), published 2026-07) - S32: Tourism Advisory Commission agenda packet, 2026-05-28 (19 pp.; includes 2026-03-26 draft minutes) (City of Durango (meeting 8221), published 2026-05) - S33: Tourism Advisory Commission agenda packet, 2026-03-26 (187 pp.; includes 2026-01-29 draft minutes and IPW co-op memo) (City of Durango (meeting 8158), published 2026-03) - S34: "La Plata County may propose slashing Visit Durango's tax revenue" (Durango Herald (Reuben M. Schafir), published 2024-05-04) - S35: "A more adaptive approach to tourism in Durango" (Durango Herald column (Ken Stone), published 2026-05-22) - S36: "Tourism in Durango: A force that gives back" (Durango Herald column (Sarah-Jane Johnson), published 2026-05-01) - S37: "La Plata County withdraws from Visit Durango contract after city takeover" (Durango Herald (Reuben M. Schafir), published 2025-05-06) - S38: "City funds more than $640,000 in community grants across 105 projects in 2025" (City of Durango News Flash, published 2026-03-09) - S39: "Application open for Local Events Marketing Grant" (City of Durango News Flash, published 2026-05-08) - S40: durango.org home page source and DNS (CNAME site.www.durango.org.simpleviewcms.io; learn.durango.org CNAME durango.thinkific.com) | read 2026-10-12 | - S41: "Tourism office makes appeal to City Council for renewed contract" (Durango Herald (Bret Hauff), published 2019-06-11) - S42: Destination Pulse org page for visit-durango (Mandalivia, read 2026-10-12) - S43: "Colle McVoy Named AOR For Visit Durango" (MediaPost (Steve McClellan), published 2026-09-23) ## 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.