In recognition of the natural resources that attract visitors to Bend, the group intended to attract visitors here wants to use a portion of the room tax it receives to fund projects to be shoveled.
By this fall, an advisory group will be selecting projects that support tourism and spend up to $ 500,000 in temporary room taxes to support the natural resources, starting points and other reasons that are the main reasons people come here. Over the next year, the Sustainability Fund, as it is known, could provide up to $ 750,000, said Kevney Dugan, CEO of Visit Bend.
Visit Bend already has a scholarship program for marketing cultural events like BendFilm and Oregon WinterFest that bring people to Bend. The new fund would allow the marketing group to extend its support to so-called tourism-related facilities such as trailheads, bike paths and river basins for adaptive sports.
“We as an industry have brought more people into the natural landscape than a land manager assumed,” said Dugan. “We feel the responsibility. We looked at what it takes to take responsibility.
“We take what is happening out there seriously and do what we can to protect and improve these areas so that the next generation has the same opportunities to relax here as we do.”
To do this, the group needs the approval of Bend City Council. The local council dealt with the topic in the session on Wednesday evening. The funds can be used to maintain cross-country trails, expand cross-country skiing, build an adaptive sports launch site on the river or build a parking lot. It’s a concept adopted by other communities.
Tillamook County will redevelop the parking lot in Pacific City and develop a mountain bike trail in Coos Bay, Dugan said.
“We wanted to fund enough meaningful projects and enough projects to make sense,” said Dugan. “There will be flexibility. We wanted to start with a meaningful dollar amount and let it grow over time. “
Over the years the marketing community has tried to address the impact tourism has on resort areas. It started as a Visit like a local Initiative and Promise for the wild, who accepted donations from visitors who wanted to support recreational areas.
Visit Bend has financed the marketing of cultural tourism with 7.5% of its annual budget for years. This year that’s $ 340,000.
The temporary room tax funds Visit Bend’s marketing efforts to promote tourism in Bend. The group has not marketed the region since the beginning of the pandemic. The City of Bend levied $ 7.5 million in temporary room tax from July through March, down 0.6% from the same period last year.
According to state law, 70% of the temporary room tax goes to the city’s general fund to pay for things like the police or fire department.
Bend City Councilor Anthony Broadman said changing the law to allow funding for tourism-related facilities is a focus of his as it will benefit the community as well.
“This will allow us as a community that live here to benefit more from the taxes the city levies on tourists,” said Broadman. “With the travel industry working together and Visit Bend and the city working together from the start, we’ve achieved something so important.
“Bend residents will benefit more from tourism-related facilities than they would ever benefit from temporary room tax as a promotional tool.”
