WASHINGTON COUNTY VISITORS ASSOCIATION NOW ACCEPTING TOURISM DEVELOPMENT GRANT APPLICATIONS

The Washington County Visitors Association (WCVA) is now accepting applications for its tourism development grants. Two types of grants applications are available online: small grants (for projects/programs from $1,000 to $5,000) and large grants (for projects/programs greater than$5,000).

Funds are allocated annually for the purpose of tourism development, including product development and out-of-area marketing, and are awarded for projects, events and programs that have the potential to attract and draw tourists from at least 50 miles outside of Washington County and the Greater Portland area.

Non-profit organizations and associations, sports and event planners and organizations, tourism groups, government entities and business associations operating in Washington County are eligible to apply. Funds will be awarded to tourism projects and/or programs that will be completed during fiscal year July 1, 2012 – June 15, 2013.

Applications will be judged based on the degree in which they match the WCVA’s target markets:
•    Athletic or competitive sporting events
•    Wine tourism
•    Nature-based tourism
•    Agri-tourism
•    Arts and culture

Application packets, including complete rules and guidelines and sample grant agreement are now available online. You may also request an application by calling 503-644-5555.

Completed applications must be received by the WCVA by 4 p.m., Thursday, March 15, 2012. Late or incomplete applications will not be accepted (no exceptions).

The grants are not intended to be an ongoing subsidy, and eligible programs and/or events must be open to the public.

The creation of tourism development funds supports the initiatives that were set forth in the organization’s “Tourism 2015” plan, which was developed in 2005 and outlined strategies to strengthen the region’s tourism industry.

ABOUT THE WASHINGTON COUNTY VISITORS ASSOCIATION
The Washington County Visitors Association (WCVA) is an accredited, not-for-profit destination marketing organization that serves the region’s tourism industry by actively promoting Washington County, Ore., as a destination for leisure and business travelers, and meeting, sports and events planners. The organization, which was established in 1983, is funded solely by a percentage of transient lodging taxes collected by lodging establishments in Washington County, Oregon. In addition to destination marketing, the WCVA supports tourism development, serves as an advocate for the tourism industry, and conducts annual research about the county’s tourism industry and its visitors. More information about the WCVA is available on our industry website.

WCVA Selects TIG Global to Develop Its New Website

After a Request for Proposal (RFP) process, and review of all applicants, the Washington County Visitors Association (WCVA) selected TIG Global, located in Chevy Chase, Maryland, to develop its new website and mobile site. Read the press release from TIG Global.

TIG Global has worked with various destination marketing associations to market similiar destinations, including the East Coast wine destination Loudoun County, Virginia. The company also has demonstrated experience working with the SimpleView customer relationship management (CRM) software, which the WCVA uses to feed listings to the website.

We are confident that TIG Global will design a website that will be engaging, and will inspire leisure and business travelers, as well as sports, tour, and meetings and event planners to choose Washington County as a travel destination.

Please let us know if you have any suggestions on how we can make oregonswashingtoncounty.com fulfill those goals.

Resources for Our Hotel and Lodging Partners

As a destination marketing organization, the Washington County Visitors Association (WCVA), provides information to our stakeholders and partners about trends, statistics and opportunities.  The following are some resources specifically for our lodging partners:

List Your Property in Travel Oregon’s Official Visitor Guide

In addition to being listed in the WCVA’s official Washington County Visitor Guide, hotels in Washington County may also receive a listing in Travel Oregon’s Official Visitor Guide.  Listings must be updated by December 5, 2011.  Learn more and download forms here.

Learn More about How the WCVA Works with Hotel and Lodging Partners

On November 30th, the WCVA held a Sales Meeting for hotel and lodging sales directors and managers. Topics covered included the WCVA’s meetings, sports and group tour sales efforts, lead process, tracking referrals, state of the industry, marketing efforts and stakeholder development. Missed the meeting? Download the PowerPoint presentation here.

Navigating the World of Tourism Speak

Does “tourism-speak” baffle you? You’re not alone, and we’re here to help you navigating the world of tourism speak.

Does the jargon of tourism make your head spin? Do you hear acronyms and other foreign-sounding words on a day-to-day basis? You’re not alone. Even we at the WCVA have to pull out the handy dictionary from time to time.

We can help you sort out tourism’s own language, which will help when dealing with tour operators, destination marketing organizations, travel agents and other travel and tourism professionals.

Check out this glossary of tourism terms (PDF),  developed by the Oregon Tour & Travel Alliance, an organization whose mission is to increase the packaged travel business throughout the state, and written by Cynthia Billette, CTP.

So, the next time a tour operator or wholesaler asks how many pax are on a preformed group tour, and what is the confidential tariff for the group, you will know exactly what they mean!

Glossary courtesy of the Oregon Tour & Travel Alliance (OTTA) and Heather Anderson, tourism sales manager for the WCVA.

The WCVA’s E-Newsletters and You

The WCVA’s E-Newsletters help keep you, as valued stakeholders, informed of what’s happening in tourism and in Oregon’s Washington County.

As a destination marketing organization, the Washington County Visitors Association knows that communication is key to keeping the WCVA and Oregon’s Washington County top of mind for Stakeholders, industry partners and consumers.

One way we do this is through the distribution of electronic newsletters, delivered directly to the e-mail inboxes of stakeholder and industry partners, as well as consumers who have opted-in to receive information from us.

“Washington County at Work” is distributed on or around the third Thursday of even-numbered months. Written for WCVA stakeholders and industry partners, the newsletter provides information about the WCVA and how we market Washington County to the public, tools to help stakeholders market their businesses, listings of upcoming events, and other relevant information.

Read the August/September 2011 issue of Washington County at Work.

“Washington County Explorer” is distributed on or around the third Thursday of odd-numbered months. Written for consumers and distributed to consumers and stakeholders/industry partners, this bimonthly newsletters provides seasonal information about what’s happening in Oregon’s Washington County. With a mix of information to fulfill both short- and long-range travel planning, the Washington County Explorer focuses on the three main consumer tourism attractors: wine, nature (outdoor recreation)  and shopping, as well as agritourism, events, sports and golf.

Read the July/August 2011 issue of Washington County Explorer.

Tourism Matters to Washington County

More than 2.6 million travelers visited Washington County in 2010, spending more than $450 million. Read more about why “Tourism Matters.”

According to the “2010 Washington County Travel Impacts,” prepared by Dean Runyan Associates, more than 2.6 million travelers visited Washington County in 2010, and visitor spending in Washington County reached $470 million, surpassing the record level of $454 million in 2008.

This is great news, considering that Washington County saw a decrease in visitation and tourism-related spending in 2009 and 2010. Thank you, Stakeholders, for helping make Washington County a great place to visit!

For more information:

• Tourism Matters Press release
• Dean Runyan Associates’ 2010 Washington County Travel Impacts report
• WCVA’s Annual Report (Fiscal Year 2010-11)
• The Oregonian article about the increases in business travel and tourism in Washington County

WCVA Welcomes New Employees

The WCVA has added two new staff members to its roster: Melissa Hay, online and interactive coordinator, and Raiza Dottin, administrative assistant.

Melissa joined the WCVA in July to take on the WCVA’s web-related tasks. This part-time position was retooled after the departure of the interactive marketing manager last year. An Oregon native, Melissa is a graduate of the University of Oregon, and worked for high-profile companies such as Logitech and WebMD.

Raiza joined the WCVA in August as a full-time administrative assistant. She will support the operations, stakeholder, marketing and sales departments. A native of New York, Raiza recently moved to Oregon from Arizona. She is a graduate of Arizona State University, where she also worked as a receptionist in the Physics department.

Welcome aboard!