I had the
opportunity to attend the 1999 Governor's Conference on Tourism
last month, and would like to share some thoughts about the direction
of the industry.
As tourism becomes one of the major industries in this state,
we need to stop and evaluate just what tourism does for our economy
statewide, and more specifically to the coast.
In 1998 tourism generated approximately $5.2 billion to the economy
statewide, which represents an average increase of five percent
per year since 1991. Although Oregon's 1997-1999 $,808,851 state
tourism budget ranks within the bottom five in the U.S. for monies
allocated, public and private partnerships have leveraged nearly
$4 million in cash and support for Oregon Tourism Commission programs.
For every dollar the OTC invested in advertising, at least $1
was generated and returned in local tax revenues.
Our industry employed about 73,000 people in 1998, which was an
increase of about 18 percent since 1991. The payroll for this
same time-frame ended with approximately $1.1 billion, which represents
an increase of nearly five percent since 1991. As these figures
indicate, this industry is growing and will continue to grow and
produce more dollars on a state and local level.
As we grow, we must focus on the type and age of our travelers
and the types of travel they will be conducting. For us at the
coast, we find that our guests are mainly leisure travelers, staying
two to four days on average. We also need to look at what Oregon
has that we are not really capitalizing on and work in partnerships
with those other industries and attractions that we are not thoroughly
promoting. The coast has a number of heritage-driven locations
of which many visitors and communities have not yet taken full
advantage. The travelers of the future, those of the "boomer
generation," are ripe for this type of travel.
We need to use the beauty of our area, the historical value, and
the friendliness of our great industry to invite and keep our
visitors to the north coast. n
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Frank Swedenborg is the 1999 board of directors representative for Clatsop and Tillamook Counties for the Oregon Lodging Association, and the owner of the Waves Ocean Front Motel in Cannon Beach. He has been involved in the tourism industry for 23 years. He may be reached at 503/436-2205.
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