Board punts on the Visitor Center, Chamber keeping contract for now

The Mariposa County Board of Supervisors is going back to the drawing board, after a tense meeting last week when nearly 30 business leaders came to the defense of the Mariposa Visitor Center and its management under the Mariposa County Chamber of Commerce.

The board plans to extend the current contract with the chamber to Jan. 1, 2027, and intends to reissue a request for proposals (RFP) in August after receiving input from business leaders and stakeholders.

The new contract will be for a three year term and renew on Jan. 1, rather than the beginning of the fiscal year July 1.

For 36 years, the chamber has operated the Mariposa Visitor Center at the intersection of Highways 49 and 140.

County staff issued a request for proposals in January that called for a stronger emphasis on social media marketing and the way people travel in the 21st century. Three bids were submitted.

Staff recommended the contract should go to Yosemite Foothills, an Oakhurst branding and content company owned by Juliette Vuillaume. It was the low bid at $180,000, and had a strong emphasis on social media marketing.

Under Vuillaume’s proposal, the physical visitor center would have been a kiosk located inside Mariposa Marketplace in the old historic downtown.

But the owners of Mariposa Marketplace pulled its support at the last minute for Vuillaume’s group, saying it didn’t have handicapped accessible parking or restrooms.

Reached after the board’s decision, Vuillaume said she is “waiting for the dust to settle” and to “see how it goes” before deciding whether she will submit another bid.

Vuillaume repeatedly said she was grateful for the opportunity to present her proposal.

There was a third proposal from Adventure Mariposa for $249,000 with no designated physical location. That proposal never received traction.

Room for improvement

The chamber’s bid leaned heavily on its track record, claiming it serves an average 75 visitor a day and more than 27,000 visitors a year. Although in the last two years it cannot claim those numbers. The chamber’s bid cost $208,000.

The chamber and its members who packed the supervisors meeting May 12 were undaunted, but also seemed to acknowledge work needs to be done.

“The visitor center runs well today, but there’s always room for improvement and to evolve,” said Trevor Dixon, the chamber’s new chairman.

He added that the visitor center has “deep roots” and is “authentic and community driven rather that transactional.”

On social media the chamber was more pointed, saying the board’s decision could “take away a vital, locally run resource” and be awarded to “a company based outside our community in Madera County.”

Assistant County Administrator Lee Westerlund seemed to address that concern off the bat when she said the RFP didn’t ask where people slept at night.

“We were focused on what they were going to deliver, not where they live,” she said.

She noted that 23 percent of county employees live outside Mariposa.

Visitor trends

Westerlund showed a graph during her presentation that showed attendance to Yosemite National Park climbing since 2023, to peak at 4.3 million last year.

Meanwhile, the Mariposa Visitor Center showed a “nose dive” since 2023.

In 2024, there were 24,812 visitors, which dropped more than seven thousand to 17,674 visitors in 2025.

There was an average of 68 visitors a day in 2024, but in 2025 there were only 49 visitors a day on average.

“Visits to the brick and mortar were half what they were prior to Covid,” Westerlund said.

Dylan Shull, a local real estate agent and short term rental operator, said the graph was deceptive in part because it didn’t account for various fires, rock slides and construction in recent years along Highway 140 into Yosemite National Park from the Arch Rock Entrance.

“Please account for entry specific visitation. Doing so is more fair and accurate,” he said.

Clicks and hospitality

Research shows travel customers use social media heavily for inspiration and recommendations. Among travelers who use social media, 65 percent use Instagram when planning a trip.

Mariposa County Supervisor Miles Menetrey pointed out the Mariposa Visitor Center’s Instagram account has only 154 followers and hasn’t posted anything since Dec. 7, 2021.

“It’s not just about clicks and websites, it’s about hospitality,” said Karen Cutter, a past chair of the chamber. She said many international visitors may not even use social media.

Supervisor Jenni Kiser said she thought the RFP had “missed the mark” by not stressing the importance of running an in-person visitor center. “It seemed like the proposal was after two different things,” she said.

“It looks like we’re giving up a fantastic visitor experience for someone paid to run around and make videos and that type of thing,” Kiser said.

Stephanie Erickson, owner of River Rock Inn, said the visitor center has made a difference in her bottom line.

“It turns daytime visitors to overnight stays. This cannot be done through a social media only connection,” Erickson said.

The Mariposa Visitor Center made $276,000 in referrals to local hotels, with $33,000 coming back to the county in the transient occupancy tax (TOT).

Kris Casto, owner of Casto Oaks Winery, told the story of a German couple who went to the visitor center on a cold Friday night, where someone suggested they go to a football game at the high school.

“They’d never been to a football game. It made their night,” she said.

Why stay the course?

But not everyone believes the county is getting the best value for its money anymore.

“I’m hearing a lot of stay the course, and I think there’s potential for better,” said Dana Tiel, who along with her husband David Bailey, own and operate Sierra Cider.

The couple cleverly market their farm and business on social media with cute videos that have viral potential.

“I know the future is on the internet. I just think there’s an opportunity. The reason we’re all heated and excited is we know there’s an opportunity today,” she said.

It was unclear if county officials wanted Vuillaume, who had the staff’s preferred proposal, to speak during the hearing, but she took the opportunity to address the room anyway.

The 28-year-old said she wanted young people like herself to feel less alone.

“We are Mariposa going into the 21st century. I urge you to join the next generation of business owners,” she said.

Vuillaume said she was interested in running the visitor center “because I love this place, it’s not because I want to replace something.”

She earned praise even from people who opposed her plan.

“No shade to Juliette,” said Lori Dixon, who owns a daycare.

“She’s got a great product, but it’s not a visitor services organization,” she said.

Organic social media is dead

Nick Adelizi, who is part of the Yosemite Foothills proposal, believes the key issue is about potential reach.

“I believe a strong online presence should be serving 10 times as many individuals.”

Actually, the Yosemite Mariposa Tourism Bureau already does that and then some. It also pays for it.

The bureau, which is funded through a separate tax, operates Yosemite.com, which gets 3.8 million visitors a year. The website had 30,000 views of Mariposa town maps and had 5,000 launching referrals.

Many people in Mariposa County and the surrounding area may not see those ad buys, because they are geo-fenced, so money is not wasted telling people something they already know.

Jonathan Farrington, the bureau’s executive director, worries a similar online presence could be “duplicative and could undermine the product we produce.”

Ellen Bergstone Wasil, director of marketing and creative for the tourism bureau, said it already has an incredible social media following built up over decades.

“It hasn’t been free,” she said. “Organic social media is dead.”

She said the bureau will invest more in social media marketing than the entire RFP for the Mariposa Visitor Center.

“I don’t want to have you set up to do something we are already doing,” she told the supervisors. “If you have suggestions, tell us.”

As for the visitor center, she said, “We love in person, because that’s something we can’t do.”