Visitor Groups Should Get Together and Find a Solution to the Conflicts
Let’s start with the local elected official’s consultant craze. Deschutes County Commissioner Tammy Baney has proposed (and evidently already taken advice) from a Portland consulting firm that would facilitate a meeting of regional tourism agencies including Central Oregon Visitors Association (COVA), Visit Bend and the LaPine, Redmond and Sisters chambers of commerce that conduct their city’s visitor programs.
The cost to hire the consulting firm (Coraggio Group that provides strategic planning, process improvement, leadership development and organizational change management to businesses) is estimated to be around $4,500 likely paid for by Deschutes County.
The purpose of a tourism meeting is to address concerns about the use and allocation of Deschutes County transient room tax. A long standing turf war has occurred between COVA and other regional tourism agencies as to how transient room taxes are allocated and who benefits from COVA’s marketing efforts.
The most recent communication gap was between COVA and Visit Bend over two different triathlons wanting to come to Bend.
Following that communication fiasco Visit Bend put forth a ‘free market’ proposal that allows the lodging companies in the unincorporated areas of Deschutes County to choose the destination marketing organization that they deem best to serve their business, rather than being forced to fund COVA. For instance, although the Inn of the 7th Mountain is close to Bend, all of its transient tax goes to COVA instead of Visit Bend. In Sisters all of Black Butte Ranch, Lake Creek Lodge, Lake Creek and Metolius River Lodges and Cold Springs and Suttle Lake Resorts room taxes go to COVA instead of to Sisters. In turn all of Sunriver’s room tax goes to COVA and Sunriver does not have access to the nearly million dollars for marketing purposes.
What’s curious about Commissioner Baney’s proposal is that a consultant was sought after before the local tourism groups (staff and respective board members) actually had a chance to sit in a room and discuss their challenges and issues. Before they all meet face to face to address how marketing Deschutes County tourism can most efficiently be implemented Commissioner Baney decided that a consultant would be required to facilitate the meeting.
Supported by an annual operating budget of more than $2 million; COVA manages tourism advertising, marketing, promotion, public relations, and industry relations on behalf of the Central Oregon region.
Visit Bend thinks there’s a more effective and efficient way to attract tourists to the region. Along with the free choice proposal, Doug LaPlaca of Visit Bend also recommends forming a Tourism Leadership Council to ensure that all of the visitor group’s efforts are in alignment.
Alana Houston of COVA has offered a counter proposal to merge the two organizations, potentially saving $190,000. According to COVA the savings would come from streamlining operations and sharing staff. Visit Bend believes a merger would be strategically ineffective, the region is too large for one visitor association and the stakeholders are too diverse.
In March, the Bend Chamber Board of Directors sent a letter to the Bend City Council as well as the Deschutes County Commissioners addressing their support for an evaluation for possible consolidation between the COVA and Visit Bend. Their letter stated: We believe having one organization representing the region would create a more consistent message and free up a significant amount of funding for working capital to bring more visitors to the area. There also appears to be some obvious overlap and duplication. Furthermore, having two organizations with two locations, as well as two sets of staff, increases overhead and significantly reduces the amount of funds available for promotion of our community.
For decades the visitor marketing programs in Deschutes County have been at odds over how best to use the transient room taxes and how to market a region diverse with so many different recreational characteristics. It’s time for a revamp.
The first step is a powerhouse meeting with staff and board members of the various groups to lay the ground work for a new plan, an improved way of marketing the region in the most efficient and effective way possible. Is an outside consultant necessary? We think a first step meeting is long over due without a paid consultant.
