Nebraska journey counselor program ending amid state price range cuts

MILFORD and LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) – The Nebraska journey counselor program at relaxation areas throughout the state will finish after Sept. 14, following state price range cuts.

Tourism brings $4.6 billion via the state, making it Nebraska’s third-largest trade. For greater than 50 years, journey counselors have helped transfer that cash into Nebraska cities, whereas watching the trade change.

Clark Kolterman is a Nebraska journey counselor on the Blue River Rest Area Eastbound close to Milford.

“We’re still on the front line,” Kolterman mentioned. “We’re the connection. We’re the ones that hand out the passports and the travelers.”

He is one in every of 19 journey counselors at relaxation areas throughout the state, selling locations like Ogallala to Melia Hill. Kolterman mentioned throughout their work week, counselors are in relaxation areas Monday via Sunday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

In July 2026, on the peak of journey season, Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen issued a memo directing state companies, boards and commissions to chop spending. The memo mentioned the cuts will hopefully assist with an surprising $307 million payout in revenue tax refunds and alleviate state price range pressures.

Jenn Gjerde is the chief director of Visit Nebraska.

“We used to staff every single rest stop all across the state and over the years we’ve cut and cut and cut and cut,” Gjerde mentioned. “So we are not staffing them the way that we used to.”

“When we sat down and looked at where we could make some adjustments, a lot of discussion came up around this program and it just feels like the right time now,” Gjerde mentioned. “We can make some great transitions with QR codes and websites. So this is the program that we’re sunsetting now.”

Gjerde mentioned Visit Nebraska has not finalized any plans with the Nebraska Department of Transportation, the group that owns the remainder areas. She mentioned she hopes to extend signage to advertise cities.

“So it is sad to see the program go and we hope they’ll still be around and serve on our local visitors committees and still spread the good word of the state of Nebraska,” Gjerde mentioned.

Gjerde mentioned when she joined Visit Nebraska, she researched the historical past of this system extensively and realized journey counselors have been first included in 1972. Gjerde calls the journey counselors “Nebraska cheerleaders.”

“There was a lot of leadership at the time who thought that having that human interaction would get people to stay longer,” Gjerde mentioned. “They thought if you had the best rest areas with the best people in them, they were going to find Nebraska to be the best travel destination.”

Gjerde mentioned the journey trade has modified because the Nineteen Seventies.

“Less people are using rest stops,” Gjerde mentioned. “That’s one big thing that’s also changed since the 1970s. A lot of our destination organizations like Visit North Platte and Kearney have their own visitor centers now.”

Doris Bowman is a Nebraska journey counselor on the York relaxation space. She began 13 years in the past, excited for a strategy to hold busy in retirement.

“I’m sorry to see the program end,” Bowman mentioned. “It just seems like it gets in your blood, so when you travel, you just want to promote things.”

Her favourite half is interacting with folks as they move via.

“Well, they say tourism is the third largest industry in Nebraska, so we didn’t get there without promotions, you know, without people doing this for a long time,” Bowman mentioned.

Bowman mentioned the way in which counselors observe guests has modified.

“We used to count everybody that came in,” Bowman mentioned. “We used to have a little clicker and we counted everybody, but now we just kind of mainly count the people we talk to.”

Bob Sautter was one of many first folks to work as a journey counselor. He began in 1973, when the place was referred to as “Vacation Guides.” Sautter labored the summer season job for 3 years, then stayed within the trade as govt director of the York County Visitors Bureau. Twenty-five years after working as a trip information, he returned to his place as a Nebraska journey counselor.

“I’m the longest surviving vacation guide,” Sautter joked. “Almost all of us were college students.”

Sautter mentioned this system has modified through the years. When he first labored as a journey counselor, there have been two staff on obligation. Today, there is just one counselor in the remainder areas at a time.

“It’s just it has lost its personal touch,” Sautter mentioned. “And that’s one thing I think we always prided ourselves on.”

“Well, (travel) is a totally different animal right now from what it was,” Sautter mentioned. “Now (the job) is just a reversal. It’s mostly older retired people and very few college kids.”

Sautter recalled a bus tour counselors took collectively earlier than beginning the job.

“We all got together at the very beginning before we started and had a week-long or 10-day bus tour throughout the whole state of Nebraska,” Sautter mentioned. “So everybody got to see parks that most of them had never seen before. And every community that we stopped at put their best foot forward and welcomed us and gave us a lot of information on what we could do to help promote.”

After this system ends, Visit Nebraska will deal with rising its web site as extra vacationers depend on know-how.

“A lot of people are using their phones as their resource because they’ve well researched their trip on the Internet before they’ve taken it,” Gjerde mentioned.

Travel counselors will proceed selling their communities till their final day on Sept. 14.

“It’s never over till it’s over,” Kolterman mentioned. “My hope is that maybe somebody else will pick it up. Maybe a different foundation will sponsor it or a different organization will take it on. So we’ll see.”

Click right here to subscribe to our 10/11 NOW day by day digest and breaking information alerts delivered straight to your electronic mail inbox.