Mayor Berg calls tourism ‘clean, renewable economic fuel for Corvallis'

Tourism is still feeling the twin stings of recession and 9-11, but Oregon is poised to launch an aggressive marketing push — and Corvallis is in an ideal position to take advantage of it.

About 40 mid-valley tourist industry professionals gathered Wednesday morning at the LaSells Stewart Center at Oregon State University for the seventh annual Corvallis Tourism Think Tank.

Orchestrated by Corvallis Tourism, the event offers a yearly assessment of the current state of the industry and a look at what might be in store for hotels, resorts, restaurants, travel agencies and the host of other businesses that depend on tourists, business travelers and conference attendees for a big chunk of their revenues.

John Hope-Johnstone, chief executive of Corvallis Tourism, applauded the Legislature for its commitment to promoting the state as a tourist destination. Additional money committed last year will raise Oregon from 47th in tourism funding nationally to about 25th, a big step up in the competition for visitor dollars.

"That is going to bring a significant impact to our state," Hope-Johnstone predicted.

Oregon Tourism Commission Director Todd Davidson said marketing doesn't just put tourists in hotels. It can also help attract new companies to the state and boost demand for Oregon products — two major goals of the new Brand Oregon campaign, which is set to roll out in April.

"Tourism marketing is important for this state because it does more than generate trips to the state," he told the audience. "It creates awareness for other industries in the state."

At present, he said, visitors spend about $6.3 billion a year in Oregon, supporting more than 89,000 jobs with about $1.7 billion in annual payroll. They also pony up $241 million in state and local taxes each year.

The additional marketing efforts now under way should help grow those numbers, Davidson suggested.

Mayor Helen Berg told attendees that Corvallis needs to recognize and take advantage of shifts in travel trends.

"In the mid-1990s, most of our hotels were running at least 66 percent corporate business," she noted. "That has changed."

The recession that began in 2000 took a heavy toll on business travel, while the terrorist attacks of the following year cut sharply into leisure travel, especially via the airlines.

Meanwhile, though, the aging of the baby boomer generation has created a new class of "nostalgia travelers" and people scouting for retirement spots. These folks are searching for a "lost America" of small-town living, Berg said, and that's just the sort of thing Corvallis has to offer.

"It's a slower pace, it's a downtown, it's a riverfront," Berg said. "It's a place that's not just a stop on the road somewhere."

These kinds of travelers now represent 25 to 30 percent of local hotel occupancy, Berg said, contributing to a total of $62 million a year in tourist spending in Corvallis.

"I hope that tourism continues to grow in our community," she said. "It is a clean, renewable economic fuel for Corvallis."

Davidson said the statewide marketing campaign was designed to promote that sort of tourism, not only in Corvallis but in communities throughout the state.

"We are not each other's competition," he reminded the audience. "We've got to get people talking about Oregon over Washington or Oregon over Montana."