It’s no accident that so many people across the state and beyond have discovered Boerne as a premier destination in the Texas Hill Country. Rather, it’s due in large part to the strategic work of a small team of people at Visit Boerne, the City’s destination marketing department led by Director Larry Woods.
“People want to come here, and a lot of them just don’t know it yet,” Woods said. “It’s our job to convince them.”
Larry will retire at the end of March after 17 years of introducing the world to Boerne’s charming downtown and its many dining, shopping, and relaxation offerings.
Showcasing Boerne
When he started, the department was known as the Boerne Convention and Visitors Bureau and was officed in the historic Menger-Shumard house at the end of the Walmart parking lot.
In 2019, the team relocated to the heart of the Hill Country Mile into the new Visitors Center at 282 Main Street, built debt-free after years of strategic planning and saving. In 2022 the department was renamed Visit Boerne to better represent the work they do.
Throughout it all, the mission remained the same.
“We get to advertise and sell a great product, which is the City of Boerne,” Woods said. “Our people are friendly, and we get comments all the time from guests who say they just can’t believe how clean it is. People love coming to the Hill Country.”
The department, funded entirely by hotel occupancy tax revenue, puts every dollar back into advertising Boerne as a tourism destination. In turn, the sales tax revenue from the millions of dollars spent at Boerne businesses helps the City buy more fire trucks, hire more police officers, invest in parks, and enhance the quality of life for its residents.
“We take good care of not only the tourists, but everybody in Boerne,” Woods said. “We have a great responsibility, and if we do our jobs correctly, it will impact the local economy and everybody who lives here.”
Visit Boerne showcases to the world hundreds of restaurants, shops, and businesses that might not otherwise have the bandwidth to reach an audience that stretches as far as Europe and Asia. Combing through a trove of data and analytics, the team builds its marketing strategy months in advance.
Larry says the greatest challenge is forecasting what the economy and the state of travel will look like down the road. But it’s the ability to adapt on the fly that has set Visit Boerne apart during his tenure.
That was no more on display than in early 2020 at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. During a planning meeting in the early days of the shutdown, someone said something that stuck with the team.
“Regardless of what’s going on in the world, people have a desire to get in their car and go somewhere,” Woods said. “Travel is a luxury they’re not willing to give up.”
The team scrapped many plans they had for the year and adjusted advertising to speak to worried travelers who just wanted to go somewhere. At a time when most cities were running at 10-20 percent hotel occupancy, Boerne remained steady at 43 percent thanks to its quick and strategic pivoting.
Career Highlights
Larry’s retirement marks the end of a career that started 57 years ago just down the road.
“I started working in the tourism industry at 13, driving a boat on the River Walk in downtown San Antonio,” Woods said.
From those early days ferrying tourists, to his years of revitalizing hotels and resorts across the country, and finally to his time at Visit Boerne, Larry’s career accomplishments are too numerous to list.
One of his proudest moments at Visit Boerne was his role in bringing a full-service hotel with lodging, a restaurant, a bar, and meeting spaces to Boerne. Leaning on his three decades of prior experience in the hotel business, he took part in rounds of research, feasibility studies, and presentations that led to the 2019 opening of the Bevy Hotel.
Larry has won several awards in his career. Most recently, he was the 2025 recipient of the Marion Szurek Leadership Award, a top honor in the Texas tourism industry.
But when you ask Larry about the success of Visit Boerne and the many other awards the department has won, he is quick to tell you about the staff that make it all possible.
“I couldn’t be prouder of the three ladies that work here – Jeanette Teague, Tori Bellos, and Val Anderson – they’re very good at what they do and they all have servant’s hearts,” Woods said. “They want to help people and make people’s visits and experiences the best they can be. That to me is the key to the whole thing.”
Larry says they have each become industry leaders in their areas of expertise, often called upon to coach other cities across the state.
Looking Ahead
Larry and his wife, Mary Woods, who also works for the City of Boerne, moved here 32 years ago when Larry told her they’d go anywhere she wanted after moving around so often. Mary picked home, which for her is Boerne.
The couple, who will celebrate 50 years of marriage at the end of March, still love the charm and quaint setting of Boerne.
Larry plans to stay active in the field through consulting and mentoring while enjoying the place he’s spent so long telling everyone about.
