After completing its merger with Visit Durango, the city of Durango is working to balance tourism interests with those of residents.
Its strategy involves the creation of an advisory commission – composed of industry representatives and residents – that will advise City Council.
City Council members will be interviewing applicants this month for the nine-member Tourism Advisory Commission.
The commission is one of three new entities created to manage tourism with the merger of Visit Durango – a former sustainable tourism and destination management nonprofit – with the city.
The others are the Prosperity Office, headed by Prosperity Officer Mike French, and the Tourism Division, which absorbed most of Visit Durango’s staff and operations.
French said the Tourism Advisory Commission will be structured similarly to the Durango-La Plata County Airport Commission. Its primary focus will be on allocating budgets and strategic planning for tourism projects such as marketing campaigns.
Tourism Advisory Commission applicants
Seventeen applicants submitted applications to serve on the city of Durango’s new Tourism Advisory Commission. City Council will interview applicants before selecting who to nominate for the board.
The applicants are:
Angie Beach, Music in the Mountains executive director
Peyton Deal, Fort Lewis College academic advisory and office manager
Tonya Ensign, owner of Leland House and Lola’s Place
Jandrea Glenn, owner of San Juan Anglers
Charles Goodman, owner of Gable House
Rebekah Huehnel, 4CORE clean transportation program director
Jeff Johnson, general manager of Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad
Antonio Lecuna, FLC assistant professor of entrepreneurship
Denise Leslie, owner of Hideaway Marketing Agency
Bruce Moss, a resident representing hospitality
Claire Nickerson, social media manager at Durango Hot Springs Resort & Spa
Ken Stone, sales and marketing director at Durango Hot Springs Resort & Spa
Tori Ossola, general manager at the Strater Hotel
Kim Oyler, chief operations officer at Durango Chamber of Commerce
David Rathburn, general manager at Purgatory Resort
Gabrielle Schumaker, a resident representing the film industry
Grant Wilson, executive director with Earth Law Center
Commission members are expected to be seated June 1, perfect timing to weigh in on the city’s 2026 budget, he said.
Of the nine seats on the commission, French said the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad and Purgatory Resort – two of the city’s top tourist draws – will have dedicated seats. Fort Lewis College and the Durango Chamber of Commerce were also offered dedicated spots.
“That strikes the right balance to have a minority from the industry and a majority representing the community and the business sector,” he said. “… We have to be able to have industry representation. That’s just critical.”
Two more seats will be reserved for other industry representatives, while five will go to non-tourism industry members. French said the organizations with dedicated seats will nominate applicants, who will still need City Council approval.
The commission’s makeup differs from Visit Durango’s former board, which was more heavily packed with tourism industry insiders.
Durango finalized its merger with Visit Durango on April 28, after a forensic audit revealed financial tracking and expenditure approval issues.
City Manager José Madrigal said in November that the city had been having difficulty collecting invoices from Visit Durango, which received 55% of lodgers tax revenues for sustainable tourism marketing.
A forensic audit conducted by Eide Bailly revealed excessive tip payments, alcohol purchases and incomplete or missing tax and vendor service records. Eide Bailly also identified potential conflicts of interest among board members representing 10 Durango-area organizations and recommended that Visit Durango revise its ethics policies to explicitly include board members.
Madrigal said the creation of the Tourism Advisory Commission introduces new safeguards for spending tax dollars that the Visit Durango board did not have – including a requirement for commissioners to recuse themselves from matters where they have a conflict of interest.
The biggest safeguard, he said, is that city boards and commissions cannot spend funds independently; they must obtain City Council approval.
French said tourism makes up about one-third of Durango’s economy, reflected in both tax revenue and employment. Some residents say tourism has too much influence.
But like it or not, tourism is a vital economic engine in Durango, he said. The challenge is balancing tourism with economic development and housing.
The city’s Prosperity Office, led by French, was established to address those priorities. Madrigal said the city’s new tourism strategy encourages public participation to help shape tourism in ways that benefit the community.
“Visit Durango, they did great work. But what was their job?” he said. “They were all tourism people. So it’s all about tourism, tourism, tourism, tourism.”
He said folding Visit Durango into city operations helps other departments recognize and address tourism’s impacts – and gives residents a voice in decision-making.
cburney@durangoherald.com
