Annual Report Highlights Continued Growth

Kari Westlund, Travel Lane County President/CEO, provided the FY23 Annual Report to the Board of County Commissioners on September 26, 2023. The report highlights key achievements, like the community's successful hosting of the World Athletics Championships Oregon22, along with record-setting direct visitor spending that topped $1.1 billion for calendar year 2022. A few other highlights you'll find in the report include:

• 35 cents of each visitor dollar is spent on food & beverage purchases
• The board adopted a 3-year plan titled Aligning for Resilience
• Data analysis led to our spring Bay Area marketing campaign that resulted in 29 million impressions
• Championship rowing events were contested at Dexter Reservoir in Lowell
• Convention activity began to build following the COVID shutdown 

View the video presentation from the Board of Commissioners meeting.

New Membership Model Debuts 

Travel Lane County strives to increase the vitality and expansion of our visitor industry in an effort to create a strong, year-round visitor economy. We recognized our membership model wasn't providing us the greatest opportunity to showcase our incredible Eugene, Cascades & Coast region, so we're introducing a few changes that we believe will highlight you and the region in a more comprehensive fashion. Our new membership model includes a no cost limited-benefit Associate membership. Our paid Member level offers new benefits and unlocks a host of marketing and partnership opportunities. 

We will begin rolling out the new membership model in October and will continue introducing the changes to current members as their annual dues renewal occurs. Current members will be provided the opportunity to choose which membership level works best for their business and their specific marketing goals. We are excited to include new digital advertising opportunities within the additional benefits section. 

Your active involvement as a member of Travel Lane County holds greater significance than ever before. As visitors prepare for their travels, let's show them a comprehensive view of the attractions our region has to offer. 

Member News

Visual Arts Week Kicks Off

Visual Arts Week kicks off in Eugene, Oregon on October 6 at Lane Arts Council’s First Friday ArtWalk. Part of this year’s week long celebration of visual arts will highlight ten multicultural artists whose works are being displayed as part of the Cultural Currents initiative.

ODA Basket Donations Needed

Oregon Destination Association (ODA, formerly ODMO) will be holding its annual meeting in January 2024. That means it’s once again time to secure items for the ODA Annual Conference (ODACon) ‘Destination Oregon’ Silent Auction and we really need your generous support. We are collecting signature destination items and gift certificates (bidders love lodging, dining, experiences and attractions) representing unique destination experiences. Each ‘Destination Oregon’ RDMO | DMO gift basket will be showcased in the ODACon Silent Auction to be held at The Allison Inn in Newberg, January 17-19. Reach out to Meg Trendler if you have something you would like included. 

Sweet Cheeks Celebrates 20th Anniversary

Congratulations Jessica Thomas and the Sweet Cheeks Winery crew for 20 years of making excellent wine! While they have been producing grapes for more than 20 years, this year marks their 20th year of producing wine under the Sweet Cheeks label.  

Local Breweries Bring Home Hardware

Alesong Brewing & Blending was awarded a bronze medal at the 2023 Great American Beer Festival (GABF) competition. This year marks the eighth year in a row Alesong has received a medal at GABF, coinciding with each year they have released beer since their establishment in 2015. The eight-year medal streak is now the 4th longest active streak in the United States. Alesong was one of only thirteen Oregon breweries to take home an award during this year’s ceremony and one of three Eugene breweries to bring home a medal, joining Travel Lane County members Ninkasi and Falling Sky.

Accolades for Thinking Tree Spirits

Wine & Spirits Magazine awarded Thinking Tree Spirits' Butterfly Lavendar Vodka “VODKA OF THE YEAR” for their Best Spirits of 2023. Thinking Tree is expanding their direct shipping program to include 34 new states. Congratulations!

EVEN Hotel Hosts Blood Drives

We all know how important our local blood supply is and EVEN Hotel has been hosting blood drives in partnership with with the American Red Cross. Go to RedCrossBlood.org to learn more about upcoming donation opportunities.

Tourism Assets for Sale

Len Blackstone, owner of the FUN company and the Hot Spot Café in Cottage Grove, has a 12-passenger van and a small fleet of bike share bikes for sale. Learn more.

Inclusion & Diversity

International Color Blindness Awareness Month Nets Huge Turnout

Did you know 13 million people in the United States are colorblind? They only see 10% of the one million hues and shades people with normal color vision see, creating obstacles to appreciating nature, to understanding color-coded schoolwork, seeing colors at tourist destinations, presentations and materials at work, and art at museums.

September was International Color Blindness Awareness Month, and EnChroma, creators of glasses for color blindness, has provided Travel Lane County with two pairs of their glasses. Are you affected by color blindness?  Travel Lane County will give away these glasses and to be eligible all you need to do is share with us how color blindness affects you and how your life would be improved by having a pair of EnChroma glasses. Share your response with Connor Nolan and we'll announce the recipients in our November newsletter.    

Over 160 organizations and influencers supported International Color Blindness Awareness Month2023. During September, EnChroma and major museums, universities, businesses, libraries, school districts, state and federal parks, tourism agencies, influencers, and Lions and Kiwanis Clubs, banded together to make social media posts, disseminate information, and engage in other activities to educate the public about Color Vision Deficiency (“color blindness”).

Erik Ritchie, CEO of EnChroma, noted, “We greatly appreciate that so many people and organizations are spotlighting color blindness in hopes it will spur educators, legislators and employers to take actions that mitigate the frustrations and challenges people with color vision deficiency experience every day.”

The Eugene, Cascades & Coast Sports Commission assists local event organizers develop and grow their events and actively markets our region to sports planners throughout the nation. Stay abreast of Sports Commission activities by signing up for this monthly e-newsletter.

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