About the JHTTB

Working toward a sustainable future.

The Jackson Hole Travel & Tourism Board ensures that tourism is a positive force for people, for nature, and for the economy.

The JHTTB is a seven-member volunteer board appointed by elected officials from the Town of Jackson and Teton County commissioners. Established in 2011, the primary function of the JHTTB at inception was to allocate Teton County’s portion of lodging tax collected by the State of Wyoming to promote travel and tourism within Teton County and the Town of Jackson. Due to unprecedented levels of visitation in the past five years, the JHTTB responded to the needs of our community by expanding its focus beyond promotional marketing to include visitor education and destination stewardship.

Mission: Through strategic allocation of Teton County’s lodging tax funds, we steward Jackson Hole toward a sustainable destination, where our leadership, marketing, management, and community engagement ensure the vitality of our natural and human ecosystems.

Vision: Jackson Hole is a wild and resilient destination where the community, economy, and natural ecosystems simultaneously thrive.

Founding documents: Our Establishment Agreement outlines the formation of the Jackson Hole Travel & Tourism Joint Powers Board. Our ByLaws outline our operating procedure.

To formalize our desire to better manage tourism in the Tetons, in 2021 the JHTTB contracted with George Washington University’s International Institute of Tourism Studies and Confluence Sustainability to provide a strategic road map and indicators for destination stewardship in Teton County. The result of the year-long resident-led process is our Sustainable Destination Management Plan (SDMP), which amplifies our community, government, and public land manager’s efforts in environmental conservation, growth management, and preservation of our quality of life.

A destination stewardship council comprised of industry leaders and citizens was formalized in the spring of 2023 to serve as an interim advisory body to the JHTTB on how to best leverage lodging tax funds to implement the SDMP, help develop a new tourism governance structure, and encourage shared responsibility community-wide to better manage tourism.

What We do

Data & Reports

Data and reports from a variety of vetted sources to understand and respond to the dynamic tourism landscape.
Learn More
Event Funding

The JHTTB allocates public funding collected from the lodging tax to local events to promote, market, and produce events taking place in fall, winter, and spring. The JHTTB has allocated between $600,000 and $1.9 million each year to assist local events.
Learn More
Sustainable Destination Management Plan

Sustainable tourism protects more than just the environment.
Learn More

Board & Staff

Mary Bess

Chair

Julie Calder

Vice Chair

Mike May

Johanna Holbrook

Board Member

Sheila Isanaka

Treasurer

Sam Pope

Secretary

Shelby Scharp

Board Member

Crista Valentino

Executive Director

Lindsey Ehinger

Destination Management Coordinator

Britney Magleby

Operations & Communications Manager

John Bowers

Marketing Manager

Questions about JHTTB

Volunteers are the cornerstone of Teton County Boards and are vital to raising awareness of issues important to the community. Openings on the many different Boards where members of the public can contribute their time and resources are posted on the Teton County, Wyoming website when they become available. Generally, applications for open JHTTB terms are posted in February/March for terms starting in July of each year. Applicants are vetted and chosen by a committee of elected officials from the Town of Jackson and Teton County. Contact the Teton County Clerk via email or phone for questions.

clerkadmin@tetoncountywy.gov

307.732.8488.

Public comment is available at the start of all board meetings and before action item votes. Public comments can be made in person, over the phone, or via Zoom. When making public comments, please announce yourself and the organization you represent. Please limit your comments to statements of opinion/fact and limit your comment to two minutes.

You may also submit public comment to the Board in writing by emailing our Executive Director at lodgingtax@tetoncountywy.gov. Written comments related to a specific agenda item must be submitted 8 hours prior to the board meeting.

The JHTTB is a seven-member volunteer board appointed by elected officials from the Town of Jackson and Teton County that manages visitor-generated lodging tax dollars to ensure tourism is a force for good in Teton County, WY. Our mission is to develop a healthy economy that preserves Jackson Hole’s natural capital, provides a quality visitor experience, and enhances the well-being of the community through destination marketing, tourist education, events, and other tourism-related initiatives as outlined in the Wyoming Statutes.

Tourism is the lifeblood of Teton County. It drives the local economy and supports hundreds of accommodation providers, restaurants, tour operators, and other businesses. In 2021, travelers spent $1.5 billion, which generated $96.5 million in state and local tax receipts. Travel-generated tax revenues help support our local communities through public services and local infrastructure projects. If not for the taxes generated by the travel and tourism industry, the average household in Teton County would have paid $10,034 more in taxes for existing public services. The 7,740 jobs supported by travel represent 22.2% of Teton County’s total employment. Without those jobs, the 2021 Teton County unemployment rate of 3.2% would have been 25.4%.

About the JHTTB