HOOD RIVER — Between March 2023 and June 2024, Visit Hood River partnered with Datafy to gather information about visitors to the area. Katie Kadlub of Visit Hood River provided an overview of sample findings to the county board of commissioners in October.
Datafy is an analytics company that measures visitation and advertising impacts on different destinations. They provide a “full circle data platform” so places like Hood River can better understand how to target audiences for tourism and how attractions are used by visitors and locals.
Baylee Olson (left) and Durham Jacklin (right) have a picnic at Tamanawas Falls, a popular hike in Hood River County.
Photo by Laurel Brown
The county underwent a demonstration trial over the last year during which Datafy used “geo-tagging” via cell phone service to track popular attractions in the county, from the trail systems to restaurants and shops. They are able to determine who visits from where and which advertisements brought people to which destinations.
Almost 60,000 trips were logged during their advertising snapshot, and 8,769 rooms were booked as a result of Datafy’s ad exposure. They recorded 6.2 million impressions were served in their targeted marketing and the return on ad spend in this trial was $93 to $1.
Kadlub explained that the information can pinpoint where visitors came from, their demographics, and the visits they made from recreating in the morning to dining at a restaurant in the evening.
Columbia Street in downtown Hood River.
Photo by Laurel Brown
Commissioners were interested in the data collection around county forestlands, though cell service is required to track land users. They also inquired about using similar systems to track 911 calls and who among visitors may be using emergency and rescue services.
Further use of Datafy’s targeted advertising and visitor tracking may be used in the county to better understand the impact and utilization of county amenities.
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