By Donna Duvall for TCAJoB
Washington tourism is getting an extreme makeover, thanks to a new public and private partnership. As part of a comprehensive six-year strategic plan, the new Washington State Tourism Commission just approved a two-year marketing plan designed to attract visitors and bring them back for more every year.
And commission members emphasize this means getting tourists to both sides of the mountains and specifically, to the Tri-Cities.
Kris Watkins, president and CEO of the Tri-Cities Visitor and Convention Bureau, is a co-chair of the state commission. “The commission will help the state have one unified message, and the wine industry is a very important component of that,” she said. “The Tri-Cities should benefit from this because it has 150 wineries within one hour’s drive.”
One year ago, Gov. Chris Gregoire signed legislation creating the Washington State tourism Commission. The commission is responsible for promoting Washington as a destination and coordinating statewide public and private tourism partnerships and marketing plans.
Before the commission was created, Washington ranked 48th in allotted tourism dollars, spending about $3 millions annually, Watkins said. By comparison, Oregon currently spends $12 million, and California spends $50 million to attract tourists.
“We didn’t keep up with our competition,” Said Watkins. “We now have leadership of companies throughout the state. Industries are well-represented, including wineries, Indian tribes and restaurants.”
Duane Wollmuth, who opened Three Rivers Winery in the Walla Walla Valley in 1999, is also on the new tourism committee. “Travel and tourism is so diverse, from art, food and wine that the challenge has been to get everyone together. The new legislation has done that.”
The focus on the burgeoning wine industry is eastern Washington has helped bridge a gap between the western and eastern Washington. “It’s the most popular category in the tourism industry, and the most rapidly growing segment of the state’s economy, ” Wollmuth said. “Fifty to 55 percent of our visitors are from the west side of the state, and 10 to 20 percent are from outside the state. There is a lot more media attention. Travel writers come from all over, even France, Germany and Asia.”
In addition to ad campaigns, Washington state is also actively pursuing public relations overseas in lieu of prohibitively expensive advertising. The state has four targeted ads this year: Museum of Flight in Seattle, Mount St. Helens, the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, and Washington Wine Country and the Columbia Valley.
As Watkins said, “We’re very well represented on the Washington State Tourism Commission.”