Tourism & Arts may be combined as their budgets both face cuts
By Stephen Baldwin, RealWV
On Tuesday, the Senate Finance Committee hosted a budget presentation by Chelsea Ruby, Cabinet Secretary for Tourism. Gov. Patrick Morrisey has also recommended that Tourism be combined with Arts, Culture, & History into one department which Ruby would lead.
“Tell me why would I merge these agencies in an effort to save money somewhere?” asked Sen. Ben Queen (R, Harrison).
“There’s going to be savings,” she began, while also noting she didn’t think that was what Queen was actually asking. “I would argue that this merger is more than just finances. It’s about doing a better job of telling the West Virginia story to in-state and out-of-state residents.”
But for now, Ruby is leading both departments (after the recent and sudden retirement of Randall Reid-Smith), both departments are facing recommended budget cuts, and she made both budget presentations.
‘Tourism is big business’
“The total economic impact is $8.7 billion,” Ruby began in reference to the tourism industry in West Virginia. “We are generating over $1 billion in tax revenue, support 60,000 jobs, and those jobs are paying over $2 billion in wages.”
Since 2019, Ruby reported that West Virginia has grown 23% in raw visitor spending, compared to a 9% increase nationally. “Tourism is big business. We’re now seeing on average about $17 million spent per day on tourism,” she told senators. “That reduces the tax burden on in-state families.”
In 2024, more than 4 million people visited the West Virginia Tourism website and 200,000 requests for the vacation guide were received.
“We are changing the way people think about West Virginia,” Ruby said of the state’s efforts to rebrand and promote West Virginia to travelers across the United States and throughout the world.
Sen. Ben Queen (R, Harrison) noted that Tourism has reached these milestones with significant investments in brand promotion as part of the state budget, and those have been cut by 50% in Gov. Morrisey’s proposed budget. “That’s a pretty big hit from what you’re used to, correct?”
“Yes,” Ruby responded. “Cash isn’t as flush as it was,” she said of the coming budget year as opposed to the last few years.
‘They really depend on that money’
Next, Ruby provided senators with the governor’s proposed budget for the Department of Arts, Culture, & History, which is separate right now in state code but may soon be combined with Tourism if acted upon by legislators.
It includes more than $1 million in cuts to direct appropriations to arts organizations including the WV Symphony, State Fair of WV, Wheeling Symphony, Greenbrier Valley Theatre, WV Humanities Council, and more.
““Those individual line items have all been taken out and rolled up into one line item and reduced by roughly $1 million,” Ruby noted.
Sen. Bill Hamilton (R, Upshur), responded, “There’s six pages of groups that received money for different fairs and festivals. I make a plea with you that…it’s really important to those people. They really depend on that money.”
“Understand,” Ruby replied.
Sen. Queen continued that line of questioning. “Our line items here that have been combined, that’s roughly a 25% cut. We would give you discretion over all of those line items?”
“Correct,” said Ruby.
“If we don’t restore these, what happens?” asked Queen.
“We would look through each one,” said Ruby. “There’s some which could have issues with federal funding…Part of it is going through and looking at each one of these and working with you all and the governor’s office to see where the cut would be taken. I haven’t had time to look into all of these at this point. I can come back with a recommendation.”
Queen said he and the committee would appreciate that. “A 25% cut might not be totally fair. I hope we don’t cut positions in these two agencies just to say we’ve saved money. I hope we do this carefully.”
“I give you my word that this isn’t just about how we can cut positions,” Ruby responded. “This is about how we can find additional funding and grow our efforts.”
Carnegie Hall & Greenbrier Valley Theatre react to potential changes
One of the organizations which could be financially impacted by an arts budget cut is Carnegie Hall in Lewisburg, WV.
President & CEO Cathy Rennard remains hopeful. “Change under any circumstances carries with it a measure of stress and arts organizations have operated under very effective leadership (in the previous department). However, Secretary Ruby is a proven dynamic leader and I’ve enjoyed watching the impact her leadership has had in Tourism. I’m sure she will be an exuberant advocate.”
At the same time, she is concerned with a potential loss of dollars, saying to RealWV on Wednesday afternoon, “No viable arts organizations in the state can afford to withstand a budget cut. One critical element is that the federal dollars anticipated from the National Endowment for the Arts this year require 100% state match. Any shortfall causes us to leave money on the table. At this point I am thinking positively and hoping the value of a presence of a strong statewide arts culture warrants continues adequate funding.”
Similarly, the Artistic Director at Greenbrier Valley Theatre, Paul Stancoto, believes his organization is well-positioned. “As the State Professional Theatre of West Virginia, GVT is at the intersection of arts and tourism,” he told RealWV on Wednesday evening. “As West Virginia continues to grow as a tourist destination, this may be the time where our responsibility to our community is to grow our brand with the budding tourist market. GVT plays a vital role in the economic growth of Greenbrier County and I believe that given Secretary Ruby’s success in growing the tourism market, we can reach a wider market, which benefits everyone.”
