By any measure, tourism is one of Hood River’s largest economic drivers, and a major funding source for critical city and county services and infrastructure. Of the transient lodging taxes paid by visitors for overnight stays in the city of Hood River, 75% are retained by the city for General Fund purposes, to enhance the community and help offset the tax burdens on residents.
Despite its many benefits, the Hood River Chamber of Commerce, doing business as Visit Hood River, understands that tourism impacts and tourism promotion remain divisive topics in our community. The situation isn’t unique to Hood River, as destinations throughout the West face similar challenges to strike a balance between the direct and indirect economic benefits that come with a sustainable tourism model, and the day-to-day presence of visitors in their community.
However, community is the focus and priority with all VHR programs. The VHR Board of Directors and staff live and work in Hood River, and we are dedicated to the quality of life and vitality of our community. We know that tourism must be managed appropriately, and in balance with community priorities. One barely must scratch the surface to fully realize the far-reaching and positive effects of overnight visitation to Hood River, and the integral value to our residents.
For every overnight visit in Hood River, the city assesses an 8% lodging tax that is paid by the visitor to the lodging property, and remitted to the city. On a $175 per night room, that equates to a $14 tax collection. Not a lot of money in and of itself but over the course of a year these lodging taxes paid by visitors quickly add up, to the tune of $1,985,256 million in the last fiscal year alone.
Of that revenue generated, just 25% is reinvested by law back into VHR for “tourism destination management” in the form of the Visit Hood River (Chamber of Commerce) annual operating budget. These funds are used in a variety of ways, including a community investment grant fund; business and leadership development and education programs; public health and pandemic messaging to local businesses; business relocation, retention and expansion support; the official Visit Hood River website and social media accounts; public relations and earned media outreach; staffing the official visitor center at the Hood River County History Museum; the protection and sustainability of Hood River’s natural assets, and more.
The remaining 75% of lodging tax paid by visitors ($1,488,942 during the last fiscal year), is earmarked for the city’s general fund, where it is used for community-wide benefit projects and services such as police, fire, parks, and planning. Without the lodging taxes paid by visitors, many of these necessary services would likely require additional taxes on local residents and taxpayers.
To put this into perspective, the portion of lodging tax collections that are earmarked for the city’s general fund could pay for more than half of the Hood River Police Department’s $2.8 million annual operating budget. Aside from this windfall of revenue for the city’s general fund, there are many other immediate and valuable tourism-related economic impacts, largely in the form of visitor spending within the destination, which directly benefits our small business community, their employees, and families.
In 2019, the last full non-pandemic year for which data is available, visitors to Hood River County spent $115.2 million on products and services within the county, according to The Economic Impact of Travel in Oregon (April 2021). This study was commissioned by Travel Oregon and conducted independently by Dean Runyan Associates. As recently as 2013, that figure was $79.2 million, which indicates that visitor spending in Hood River County has increased by more than 45%, or $36 million, in that time.
Of that $115.2 million in visitor spending, $78.8 million was spent on products and services other than lodging, including food service ($34.3 million), retail sales ($13.1 million), arts/entertainment/recreation ($12.1 million), local transportation and gas ($11.4 million), and food stores ($7.9 million). That same report also found that in Hood River County, travel industry employment in 2019 stood at 1,170 people, an increase of more than 18% from 2013.
I often hear from locals who tell me that Visit Hood River shouldn’t be doing anything to market or promote Hood River as a leisure travel destination, that too many people already visit. VHR is sensitive to this, which is why thoughtful destination management and community investment drives the marketing and promotion strategies.
While tourism does not come without a cost, most notably in the form of road maintenance, emergency services, trash removal, parking, transportation, and more, my perspective goes beyond our busy summers. For anyone who has stood at the corner of Second and Oak on a Wednesday afternoon in mid-January, there is little doubt that Hood River can benefit from increased visitation at certain times of the year.
That is precisely where VHR plays one of its most important tourism roles. As the city-designated destination management organization, Visit Hood River has the privilege and responsibility of managing resident and visitor expectations through a combination of awareness, education, stewardship, and advocacy.
As a non-profit organization, VHR exists to increase economic prosperity and quality of life for those fortunate enough to call Hood River home. The value of an organization such as Visit Hood River lies in its ability to support, protect, nurture, and direct the destination’s development in a manner that is beneficial, equitable, and most importantly, sustainable.
Following this sustainable tourism model, we focus our efforts on where the biggest gains stand to be made. We target very specific audience segments and encourage midweek and off-peak visits. In doing so, we provide community-wide benefit while supporting the city’s general fund, our community partners, and residents.
The pandemic has taught us that we can never be complacent and must always listen, learn, and be solution-oriented. On behalf of the VHR Board, please reach out to share your questions, comments and concerns. We are dedicated to presenting a viable, beneficial, and sustainable product that is the hallmark of any successful destination management organization such as Visit Hood River.
•••
Katie Kadlub is Executive Director of Visit Hood River|Hood River County Chamber of Commerce.
Commented