$120K a year sounds small until you allocate it intentionally. Here's how small-county DMOs run programs that punch above their weight.
Most small-county DMOs are working with $60K to $200K a year in lodging tax. That's not nothing — but it's also not enough to run the kind of program a state tourism office or a metro CVB runs. Allocation matters more at this scale than at any other.
A working allocation
Strategy and brand: 5%. Website and content infrastructure: 25%. Paid media: 35%. Social and earned content: 15%. PR and FAM: 10%. Reporting and tools (Placer, STR): 10%.
What to cut
Cut the booth at the state tourism conference if you aren't actively recruiting partners. Cut the printed visitor guide if you can ship a great digital version. Cut the third social platform if you can't post weekly on the first two.
What to never cut
Don't cut your destination website. Don't cut your Placer.ai or STR subscription. Don't cut your photography budget — original photography is the single most important asset for both traditional SEO and AI search visibility.
Reporting that defends your budget
Build a single one-page monthly report showing room nights, lodging tax, attraction foot traffic from Placer, website sessions, and paid media performance. Print it. Hand it to your committee. Repeat every month for 12 months and you'll never have to fight for your budget again.