craigdailypress.com

The Moffat County Tourism Association plans to revamp its approach to marketing the area, either by hiring a professional consulting firm or by conducting its own surveys.

Michelle Balleck, MCTA director, said the board met for an informal workshop Thursday and rethought its initial idea to hire an outside firm because it wants to save money, if possible.

One idea is for MCTA to create survey postcards for tourists and place them throughout Moffat County.

Visitors would answer questions about where they came from, their background, what they liked about Moffat County and what they think could be improved. They then could turn the surveys in locally or mail them to MCTA.

Scott Ford, who has worked on similar projects with the Craig/Moffat Economic Development Partnership, said he might be able to volunteer and help with the project, Balleck said.

The MCTA director said the group is looking for money-saving ways to hire an outside group to analyze the comment cards.

Balleck said the board intends to have something for tourists this fall during hunting season and then continue year-round.

"The board has been considering something like this since before I became a part of the organization," said Balleck, who was hired earlier this year.

"In general, I think the board feels like we're kind of shooting from the hip about how we advertise and where we buy ads," she said. "The ultimate goal would be to develop a media plan where we can target certain demographics in certain publications and get the best bang for our buck."

The MCTA board plans to meet for a second workshop to discuss its marketing strategies at 5 p.m. Monday at Serendipity Coffee Shop, 576 Yampa Ave.