Why is Travel Salem charging for marketing services that used to be free?

Marketing options such as the Visitors Guide listings used to be free, right? Not exactly, listing fees were included in the display advertising rates. These fees are now sold separately so Members can mix and match options to build their own marketing package. The goal is to give Members more flexibility in choosing marketing services. For instance, some businesses want a listing but not a display ad, and vice versa.

What about putting a brochure in the Visitors Center – that used to be free? Yes – it was a free service previously. Because of limited space for displaying brochures, Travel Salem is now charging a nominal annual fee for businesses who want their materials distributed. These fees go back into supporting the operation of the Visitors Center.

Another reason for the change is that for every $1 received from the City of Salem, Travel Salem has to generate an additional $3 from outside sources. We are flanked to the north and south by organizations with multi-million marketing budgets. And in order to operate as a regional DMO serving Salem, Marion and Polk counties, Travel Salem needs broad-based financial support to succeed in this extremely competitive tourism industry.