Senator says independent state tourism agency is not working and ‘mis-messages’

LINCOLN — A legislative proposal to prevent “marketing malpractice” in pitching Nebraska tourism ran into opposition Tuesday from those involved in hosting visitors to the state.

Under a bill introduced by State Sen. Brian Hardin of Gering, the Nebraska Tourism Commission would no longer be an independent agency run by commissioners from across the state, but be folded into an office of the Nebraska Department of Economic Development (DED), a state agency controlled by the governor.

Tourism had been an office of DED until 2012 when then-State Sen. LeRoy Louden, who represented the far northwest corner of Nebraska, won passage of a bill to make tourism an independent agency.

The stated goal then was to improve representation from the entire state in tourism promotion decisions, lessening a perceived bias toward Omaha and Lincoln attractions.

But the independent Nebraska Tourism Commission, and its then-director John Ricks, stirred controversy — as well as nationwide publicity — when it employed an edgy tourism slogan, “Nebraska. Honestly, it’s not for everyone.”

While the marketing campaign won awards and mentions in national media, it was later decried by Gov. Jim Pillen, some state senators and DED leaders as signaling to tourists, as well as potential new residents and employees, that Nebraska wasn’t for them.

In 2023, then-DED Director Tony Goins said the “not for everyone” campaign “made a mockery” of the DED’s pitch line for new residents and businesses: “The Good Life is Calling.”

That year some supported a similar proposal to end the Tourism Commission’s independent status, but the bill ended with a compromise in which the Commission added new members from DED and the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce to better coordinate marketing messages.

Ricks resigned in September, and the “not for everyone” tagline hasn’t been used since 2023. A new tourism slogan, “Nebraska. All Heart,” was recently unveiled by State Tourism Director Jenn Gjerde, who was hired two weeks ago to replace Ricks.

Despite the changes, and what Hardin termed the exit of those who “perpetrated that crime against humanity,” he asked the Legislature’s Banking, Commerce and Insurance Committee to again consider moving tourism promotion back within the Department of Economic Development.

The senator said returning tourism to DED would prevent “mis-messaging” of Nebraska’s beauty and tourism opportunities. Tourism pitches, he said, would better align with DED’s efforts to attract new residents and workers to the state and address “brain drain.”

“Tourism is the front door to growing our economy,” Hardin said. “This would make sure that Nebraska is speaking with one voice, a voice that resonates with Nebraskans.”

Maureen Larsen, the current director of DED, said the old slogan was “negative marketing” and gave the perception that Nebraska was “a flyover, boring or a joke.” She said that the Tourism Commission mistakenly targets only two national markets now, the Chicago area and Oklahoma, and doesn’t do enough to promote the state’s attractions to its own residents.

“Residents don’t know what our state has to offer,” Larsen said, adding that would change if DED managed those responsibilities.

North Platte State Sen. Mike Jacobson, who chairs the Banking Committee, asked Larsen — who is now a member of the Tourism Commission — if she had made her concerns known, and how many meetings of that agency’s board she had attended. Larsen responded that she had made one of the three meetings during her seven months as head of DED but that the commission was aware of her criticism.

Larsen, who was named by Pillen as interim DED director in July, faces confirmation by the full Legislature. Her nomination has not yet been forwarded by the Banking Committee, which oversees DED-related legislation.

Opposing Hardin’s bill were representatives of the Nebraska Travel Association and Nebraska Hospitality Association, as well as a former Tourism Commission member. They disputed that the independent State Tourism Commission, also known as “Visit Nebraska,” isn’t working.

Kerri Rempp, director of Discover Northwest Nebraska, said that rural areas like hers had tended to be overlooked when “a bureaucrat based in Lincoln” was in control and that marketing back then tended to focus heavily on attractions in the eastern part of the state.

Tourism is the state’s third-largest industry, and the Travel Association, in a press release last week, pointed out that tax revenue generated by visitors has grown from $187 million in 2010, when tourism was under DED, to $323 million in 2024.

Rempp added that Nebraska ranked No. 6 in the nation in growth of the Gross Domestic Product from the lodging, food services, arts and entertainment and recreation sector in 2024.

The Nebraska “Passport Program” encouraged travel to 70 unique attractions across the state last year to collect stamps and win prizes and had nearly 7,500 participants, according to a state tourism website. It is primarily aimed at state residents, according to Deb Loseke, who served more than a decade on the State Tourism Commission.

Rich Otto of the Nebraska Hospitality Association, said his member motels and hotels generate 90% of revenue for the Tourism Commission via state lodging taxes, and his members want “continued results.”

Otto said that prior to the “not for everyone” campaign, Nebraska ranked as the “least likely” state tourists were planning to visit. That ranking rose to 45th, according to tourism officials in 2023. Otto told senators the ranking might have risen as high as 41st eventually.

The Banking Committee took no action on LB 1142 following Tuesday’s public hearing. Jacobson has offered an alternative to the bill, an interim study of how best to boost tourism in Nebraska.

Tourism funds

State lodging tax revenue, which funds the Nebraska Tourism Commission, increased by 6.7% in fiscal year 2024-25 to just over $8.2 million.

Also during that year, the agency awarded $749,077 in tourism marketing grants to entities including the American Junior Shorthorn Association ($50,000), Cheyenne County Tourism ($9,414), Friends of the State Museum ($10,000), Visit North Platte ($14,745), Sandhills Global Event Center, National High School Rodeo ($96,820), Visit Lincoln ($32,500) and the Willa Cather Foundation ($20,295).

The commission’s website includes a tab called “Relocating to Nebraska,” which includes a link to available jobs in the state.

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