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Business Q&A -- Julie Petretto Tourism in the Rogue Valley Q: How important is tourism marketing to Southern Oregon's economy? The travel industry is a vital component to the economy of Medford and Southern Oregon. It represents over 3,400 jobs with an annual payroll of over $64 million dollars in Jackson County alone. If you take into consideration all of southern Oregon from Lake County, Klamath, Douglas, Josephine, Jackson, Coos and Curry (which are the counties that the Southern Oregon Visitors Association represents) the impact totals over 13,000 jobs and over $749 million in travel spending. Marketing Southern Oregon as a desirable area is key to attracting new visitors to our area, which benefits the local businesses and the overall economy of the region. We are no different from any other tourism area of the state; visibility is the key to letting more people know about our recreation, culture, history and natural resources. Visibility is accomplished through the marketing efforts regionally and statewide. Q: How well do first-time visitors know the Rogue Valley? Are there some misconceptions? Many people have researched their destination and the geographic area through the Southern Oregon Vacation Guide, and individual regional brochures and Web sites. What we have found is many visitors and residents are unaware of the unique natural resources and cultural opportunities. Crater Lake and the Rogue River have national recognition. There is more natural splendor, such as the many national forests, wineries, ocean shorelines, rivers, lakes, high desert, rangeland, wild salmon, black bear, otter, osprey, eagles, antelope, bighorn sheep, elk, deer and more. There are historic towns and scenic byways filled with mysteries and tales of years gone. Q: Has this been a good summer locally for tourism? Have there been better years for tourism in our region? What was the reason? Tourism this summer in Southern Oregon shows a minimal growth over last summer - even though there is an increase in room tax revenues ranging from 2 to 27 percent in Southern Oregon. In a recent survey conducted by the Medford Visitors and Convention Bureau, many of the attractions were showing an increase in visitor counts compared to last year this time even with the current challenges of fuel prices, water levels and fire conditions. The Medford VCB has seen significant increases in the number of conference, group and sport-related visitors into Medford over the past year. The Professional Bowlers Association's Medford Open, which is scheduled for January 2002, is a good example of the type of events the bureau continues to attract and work with. The national coverage that the Rogue Valley will receive over the next six months will be a boost for the economy in Medford and Southern Oregon. However, the additional lodging rooms that have been sold in those market segments have been partially offset by the decrease in corporate visitors. 1991-92 were high-number years for southern Oregon including Oregon State Parks both regionally and statewide. The possible causes were a strong economy in California, moderate temperatures and lower fuel prices. That combined with low fees for camping and day use provided tourists with the best of all worlds. Tourism has been designated one of Jackson County's key industries since 1989. Tourism is a stable industry that brings in new dollars to the area, creates jobs and stimulates business development and relocation. Research shows that 30 percent of people who relocated here first visited as a tourist. Thus, travel and tourism in Jackson County and Southern Oregon can help strengthen the entire area's economy by the economic development that results from the tourism industry. Q: How much impact do things such as the Klamath Basin water issue and recent forest fires have on tourism? The recent fire and water problems are not new to the West. People that live here have a keen knowledge of the effects of both issues as they affect them directly or indirectly on a daily basis. All of the reservoirs, lakes and rivers in Southern Oregon are experiencing less water due to the drought conditions. This has had some impact on water-related recreation sites. Rogue River flows have been held at relatively high flow rates to protect migrating salmon from high water temperatures. The drought has added to the potential for forest fires. Overall tourism is up in Southern Oregon, some callers ask about fire and water conditions but it hasn't deterred them from visiting the general area. Q: What are the greatest challenges involving tourism in the region? One challenge is to get the word out that customer service delivers in this area of the trade. Another challenge is to convince public and private policy makers that tourism (the third-largest industry nationally and for the state of Oregon) is a large portion of Oregon's economy and that it deserves funding much the same as the agriculture and timber industries. If we are to have a mixed economy, we need to support all areas adequately. Regionally and locally, the challenge is to continue to educate tourism providers with the knowledge that we are all in this together. Marketing ourselves as a region provides potential customers for everyone. Quality customer service on a regional level encourages return visitors and an expanding market. To suggest a subject for this column, please contact reporter Greg Stiles at 776-4463 or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.