I thought these folks made money?
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SEATTLE | Fri Jul 1, 2011 7:33pm EDT
(Reuters) – The state of Washington formally shuttered its tourism office on Friday, a move that helps close deep budget deficits but makes it the only U.S. state no longer spending money to attract visitors.
The remaining $2 million expected to fund the tourism office over the next year was cut by a vote of the Washington state legislature in May as part of the budget that Governor Christine Gregoire signed into law on June 15. …..
A notice on the state’s official tourism website urges readers to “stay tuned” to the group’s Twitter feed for updates.
The Washington Legislature’s decision to slash all tourism funding “is almost unprecedented,” he said.
“My reaction was ‘Those fools. Those dolts. Those idiots,’ Colorado Tourism Office director Al White told Reuters in an interview. “They should have learned from our mistakes.”
White said Colorado lost one-third of overnight visitors after its tourism office closed from 1993 to 2000, calling that decision “an incredible economic travesty.”