Boise Airport opens new welcome center

Gem State visitors have a new resource for information at the Boise Airport.

The Boise Convention and Visitors Bureau and their partners cut the ribbon on a new welcome center inside the passenger terminal on Jan. 15. The bureau’s executive director, Carrie Westergard, wielded a giant pair of scissors to cut the red ribbon as a crowd of over 60 looked on.

The welcome center is a large round counter and display to the right of the northernmost doors on the ground floor of the terminal, just around the corner by the rental car counters. It features brochure space, a ceiling-to-floor panorama of Boise from the air, and a continuous video of tourism opportunities.

“Over the next few months, we will be expanding and installing an informational kiosk,” Westergard said in her introductory address. “The welcome center will not staffed all of the time, but we will also be staffing it when there are special events in Boise. When those big, big events come to town, we will have a presence here to welcome visitors.”

Bill Connors, CEO of the Boise Metro Chamber of Commerce, also addressed the attendees.

“We like to think of travel and tourism as the gateway drug for economic development,” he remarked. “So many people come and visit Boise on travel. They fall in love with this place, they bring a business here, and it’s good for all of us.”

Connors noted that the travel industry provides one in seven jobs in the U.S.

“Travel is bigger than steel, it’s bigger than agriculture, it’s bigger than automobiles, but it doesn’t get quite the respect as those other industries,” he said. “However, from a business point of view, this little investment is just one example of how the travel industry can make Boise thrive even more.”

Delaware North, an airport vendor, catered the event. The food service firm runs Bardenay restaurant, the 13th Street Pub & Grill, Smashburger and Einstein Brothers Bagels at the terminal. A variety of Idaho-produced wines and beers were served at the ribbon-cutting, including a 2015 Star Garnet red wine blend from Indian Creek Winery in Kuna, India pale ale from Boise Brewing, Mutton Buster brown ale from Payette Brewery Co., and Lonesome Larry American lager from Sockeye Brewing.

The new welcome center was a team effort, the partners said. A wide range of organizations were involved in its creation, including the Boise Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Southwest Idaho Travel Association, the Boise Metro Chamber of Commerce, Boise Airport, the City of Boise, the Idaho Tourism Association, Bogus Basin, Roaring Springs Waterpark, Wahooz Family Fun Zone, Pinz Bowling, Boise Center, Cascade Raft and Kayak, the Cascade Chamber of Commerce, the Downtown Boise Association, the Idaho Wine Commission, Lamar Advertising, Rizen Creative, and Fahlgren Mortine.