SAN ANTONIO – The City Council gave the final approval for the Convention and Visitors Bureau to leave the city's umbrella and become a public-private nonprofit.
The City Council approved a destination services and marketing agreement 7-2 Thursday for Visit San Antonio, the new nonprofit version of the CVB. The transition to the new entity begins Oct. 1 and becomes official on Jan. 1.
The focus of Visit San Antonio will be the same as the CVB, to attract people to San Antonio. Working outside the normal city process, though, will let them be more nimble and faster to market, said Casandra Matej, CVB executive director.
"The reality is that we can make decisions much quicker by taking those to the board of directors," she said.
In its new form, Visit San Antonio will still get public funding. The agreement approved by council is for approximately $23.3 million in the next year. However, it can also go after private money.
We have always had a really healthy and robust budget," Matej said. "Now, some of our (costs) are growing beyond our budget, so we need to remain competitive."
Councilman Ron Nirenberg voted against the change. He said the new structure reduces oversight, but he's not convinced it will bring in private dollars.
"We still have that opportunity right now to have more public and private partnership with the CVB and visitor industry," Nirenberg said. "Changing the structure doesn't get us to that outcome."
A CVB spokesman said plans to bring in private revenue will be developed over the next year.
Employees will have the option of either staying with the city or staying with the Convention and Visitors Bureau as it becomes Visit San Antonio. The new organization will stay in the same building for the time being.