Central Oregon Tourism Decline

Blockbuster Tourism
By Jeff McDonald / The Bulletin
Published: May 08. 2009 4:00AM PST

Central Oregon’s tourism promoters are hopeful that marketing the region as an “epic” destination for spring and summer travel will turn around an industry that has seen double-digit declines the past four months in room-tax collections, a key indicator of the industry’s health.

The new 30-second ad launches today in movie theaters west of the Cascades, where it will be shown as an ad before previews and movies. The spot depicts Central Oregon as the ultimate spring and summer destination with a voice-over narration that depicts images in rapid-fire fashion, including exploding volcanoes, majestic glaciers, kids playing in a pool, golf, mountain biking, river rafting, fly-fishing, spa treatment and climbing at Smith Rock.

The voice-over narration begins with dramatic music that would make Hollywood proud: “forged by volcanoes, carved by glaciers, a world of wonder, adventure ... and lots of sunscreen.”

The campaign, which also began running this week on Portland-area TV and radio stations, is the sequel to a campaign the Central Oregon Visitors Association ran in 2007-08 called “Real Winter,” which depicted the region as a winter playland with a similar movie trailer-like advertisement.

“Central Oregon is a multitude of experiences,” said Alana Audette, the president and CEO of the Central Oregon Visitors Association, which created the ad with Bend creative firm Citrus. “The object of the spot is to draw attention to the region as a vacation destination.”

COVA spent $500,000 on the spring and summer campaign, which includes print, cinema, cable and television, and online ad placements, Audette said. Roughly two-thirds of the ads were bought in Oregon, where the costs are lower and the rate of return is expected to be greatest in the down economy, she said.
Summer is the biggest time of year for Central Oregon’s estimated $571 million tourism industry. While summer is expected to provide a bounce for local tourism operators, revenues will likely be down from previous years, Audette said.

Recent room-tax data show tourism operators are under stress.

Deschutes County and the city of Bend reported 22.7 percent and 28.2 percent declines, respectively, in March room-tax collections, according to data released Tuesday. Those were the fourth and fifth consecutive months of double-digit declines for the county and city, which are down year-over-year 7.2 percent and 13.8 percent, respectively, since July 1, 2008, the start of the current fiscal year.

“I don’t even get any (visitor) inquiries any more,” said Laura E. Harvey, the owner of Sunriver Retreats, which specializes in corporate retreats and seminars as well as weddings and family getaways near Sunriver. “It’s like we have disappeared from the face of the Earth.” Harvey said any effort to promote the region will help. “Our budget is very tight,” she said.

Louise Montgomery, the owner of Sun Village Rentals in Sunriver, said business is down about 25 percent in the number of visitors this year.

“Any marketing would probably help,” she said. “I have done property management for almost 29 years, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen the market so bad. People want to stay for shorter stays, and they always say, ‘Can you give me a better price?’

Audette said she is keeping her “fingers crossed” that in-state visitors will respond to the ad. The 30-second spot is out in time for the summer blockbuster season, Audette said.

She cited recent reports from the U.S. Travel Association that Americans are still going to travel this summer, but are more likely to drive to destinations closer to their homes than fly or go to more exotic locales.

“We think Central Oregon is very well-positioned to capitalize on closer-to-home travel,” she said. “Folks within the state no longer have to travel to Hawaii, New York or Disneyland. They can have an epic experience just traveling within the state of Oregon.”

The destination marketing organization is running this year’s campaign through July 30 on every screen at virtually every major cinema in Portland and selected theaters in Eugene, Salem and Medford, Audette said.
COVA also bought eight weeks worth of commercial airtime on KGW and Comcast Cable in Portland, which also are broadcast throughout Western Oregon, Audette said. The cable and television ads, which began running Monday, will run 1,275 times through June 26, Audette said.

“Cable allows us to buy networks that are most reflective of our target demographic — above-average income adults 25 to 54, with slightly more emphasis on women,” she wrote in a news release. “The cable buy gives us the ability to target that audience cost effectively and with lots of frequency.”Also part of the campaign, print advertisements will appear in regional publications such as Golf Digest, Sunset magazine and Southern Oregon magazine, Audette said.