BISHOP TOURISM IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT (BTID) ANNUAL REPORTS
2026 Visit USA Parks Campaign Stats
2024-2025 BTID Annual Report | Datafy Report | | Inyo County Board Presentation 2025 PPT |Climbing Ranger Recap
2023-2024 BTID Annual Report | Annual Paid Media Report |Unveiling BishopVisitor.com Presentation
2022-2023 BTID Annual Report | Annual Paid Media Report | 2023 Visitor Impact Study (Lauren Schlau)
2021-2022 BTID Annual Report | Annual Paid Media Report
BISHOP TOURISM IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT (BTID) 2020-2029
The Bishop Area Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Bureau (BACCVB) and the Bishop Tourism Improvement District (BTID) serve as the official destination marketing and management entities for the Bishop region. For years, local business owners advocated for enhanced marketing, yet the City’s general fund could not support a comprehensive program. In response, the Chamber and lodging owners collaborated in 2012 to create a self-sustaining funding solution, resulting in the formation of the BTID. This public-private partnership was designed to grow the local tourism economy without straining the City’s budget.
The mission of the BTID and BACCVB is to positively affect the destination’s tourism economy and the quality of life for its residents. As a benefit assessment district formed under the Property and Business Improvement District Law of 1994, the BTID includes all lodging businesses—including hotels, motels, hostels, and short-term rentals—within the Bishop City limits. The district operates on a 2% assessment rate of gross sales, which is collected by the City and forwarded to the Chamber to fund strategic sales, marketing, and public relations efforts.
In addition to destination promotion, the organization supports visitor research, local business advocacy, and destination stewardship. A core pillar of this work is responsible recreation, ensuring that the promotion of the Eastern Sierra to leisure travelers and event organizers is balanced with the long-term sustainability of the region’s natural resources. Since its inception in 2015, and through its current 10-year renewal (extending to 2029), the BTID has consistently exceeded expectations by boosting occupancy and increasing vital transient occupancy tax revenues for the community.
Bishop on the Move – by Civitas
The town of Bishop lies within driving distance of some of California’s iconic landmarks such as the Sierra Nevada mountains, Mammoth Lakes, Yosemite National Park, and Death Valley. Far from being overshadowed by these well-known destinations, Bishop is a major resort town with its own attractions like the Buttermilk Boulders, and its own claim to fame, like being recognized as a Top 50 Adventure Town by National Geographic in 2011.
While the town could have rested on reputation, Bishop instead decided to pursue further adventure by establishing the Bishop Tourism Improvement District (BTID) in 2014. A 2% assessment became effective on January 1, 2015, with funds set to be used for tourism promotion programs. The programs included carefully considered projects from marketing to trout stocking, as well as tracking and measurement of results.
The Bishop website was rebuilt and launched in January 2018. By 2017, the BTID annual report found: “78.3% are new users. This proves marketing efforts are working to create new interest. The new website is an excellent tool for measuring effectiveness of all marketing investments. The significant increase in organic search indicates brand awareness is increasing – people are searching specifically for Bishop.”
In those two years, annual occupancy also increased from 60.7% to 67.0%, equating to nearly 20,000 more room nights per year. There were even some increases in average daily rates during off-peak times.
In January 2019, the Bishop City Council unanimously approved the renewal of the Bishop TID for another 10 years, ensuring ongoing support for the “small town with a big backyard.”
BISHOP USED AS A CASE STUDY
How Bishop CVB Captivates and Educates Visitors, Achieving 185% Web Engagement Rates
Nestled between the mountains of the Sierra Nevada desert, near California’s eastern border lies the town of Bishop, known to many as the gateway to a myriad of outdoor activities in the surrounding wilderness.
“Our tagline is ‘a Small Town with a Big Backyard,’ and that’s essentially what it is,” said Julie Faber, the Digital Marketing Manager for the Bishop Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau. Faber adds that activities range from world-class hiking and bouldering to some of the state’s best trout fishing and road cycling, “It’s just kind of a Mecca of an outdoor playground.”
While the town attracts visitors far and wide through its peak season, the destination had always found it challenging to inspire visits from October through April, in spite of the fact that most of its attractions remain open.
> READ THE FULL STORY: How Bishop CVB Captivates and Educates Visitors (CROWDRIFF)