The saying "It takes a village" originated in Africa but it applies to our great community and local tourism, too. It's a group effort.
Our staff members work passionately to promote our community. In the words of one conference organizer, "Your efforts exceeded any expectations (or prior experience) with any other visitor's bureau that we have ever encountered in our circling of the globe." Our team will continue to advocate for this region. But we all have the power and the connections to help make it happen. We are all members of the tourism team here in Clark County.
Here are just a few highlights of the huge economic benefit of tourism to our area. In 2011:
- Visitors to Clark County spent $424.9 million at local businesses
- $6 million in tax revenue was collected from Clark County visitors
- Tourism created more than $110 million in job earnings in Clark County
In addition, our tourism bureau directly booked nearly 33,000 room nights and 113 events in 2012.
With facilities for groups from 10 to 10,000, thousands of guest rooms and unique meeting venues, it is no surprise that we are attracting events to Clark County. Tourism and visitor spending continue to grow and impact the economic health and vibrancy of our community. With your partnership, we can do even better!
How you can help. Here are three simple ways that you can contribute to a healthy and growing tourism industry in Clark County:
- Think about the organizations you are affiliated with, particularly in Washington State and the Pacific Northwest. These could include professional trade associations, sports groups and events, corporate conferences, faith-based organizations, hobby or special interest groups - any group that holds regional and statewide gatherings. After taking your personal inventory of affiliations, provide referrals or leads to our professional tourism convention sales staff members.
- Be available to write and/or sign letters when requested to these organizations in support of our community and its excellent event venues. Our community competes against other cities for site selections every day. This can make a major difference when an organization is determining where to meet.
- When your organization visits Clark County to consider booking an event, you can make yourself available to be part of a welcome reception or part of a tour to showcase our area and encourage the group representatives to choose us as the destination for their upcoming conference or event.
Your help is as simple and effective as that!
We have a terrific staff of professionals who spend each day promoting our great area and venues. Your assistance will help them reach even more organizations. Please give our tourism office a call today with your referrals, leads and other ideas. Help keep tourism and visitor dollars flowing to Clark County!
 |
 |
Eric Walters |
Kim Bennett |