This podcast contains comments from the May 2, 2023 Bryan city council meeting.

The Bryan city council's tourism office presented a review of its third year of operation during this month's regular meeting.

Information shared by director John Friebele included Bryan hotel revenue and the city's collection of hotel occupancy taxes are expected to set records when the fiscal year ends.

Friebele reported revenue at Bryan hotels rose from $19 million dollars during the first year of the pandemic to a projected $36 million dollars this year.

The number of room nights purchased in Bryan hotels rose from 264,000 during the first year of the pandemic to a projected 371,000 this year.

Regarding future business development, Friebele focused on Midtown Park and a request to protect green space for music festivals.

Marketing Bryan tourism efforts between April 1, 2022 and April 30, 2023 has reached more than 16 million impressions.

Friebele said almost 14 million are through what was described as digital ad impressions, along with 564,000 website sessions, and a combined two million hits on Facebook and Instagram.

The city council learned that one-fourth of visitors to Bryan come from Houston, 17 percent come from the Dallas/Fort Worth area, 17 percent come from the region that includes Waco, Temple, and Bryan, seven percent come from Austin, and six percent come from San Antonio.

Friebele's presentation to the Bryan council also included next year's budget request, which includes money to start an ambassador program to train front line workers in the local tourism trade about promoting the city to visitors.

Click HERE to read and download presentation materials from the May 2, 2023 Bryan city council meeting.