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Tourism Team Moves Visitors from Inspiration to Booking
Travel Lane County's Tourism Marketing team actively inspires potential visitors to learn about the majesty of the Eugene, Cascades & Coast region through the use of owned, earned and paid media channels. Over the next few editions of this Visitor Industry Newsletter we'll explore a few of the team's strategies and the amazing outcomes we are seeing from their efforts.
Most of us are keenly aware of the popularity of video on social media. We smile at frolicking baby goats, marvel at miniature pigs and our hearts swell when piles of puppies play with boundless energy. Our Tourism Marketing staff has joined forces with our talented Integrated Marketing team to create short-form videos highlighting unforgettable experiences. The number of views continues to mount and we know that when folks get inspired by these videos it won't be long before they'll visit! Our latest video explores the rich local food truck scene and in its first three days online it has garnered more than 18,000 views. Experience all three videos by clicking the images below and note the number of video views to date. And yes, the Cascades Raptor Center video has been viewed nearly 600,000 times!
Remember to check the December newsletter where we look into a number of recent wins on the earned media front.
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Share Your Thoughts
Complete this 10-question survey conducted by Turell Group about activities, adventure and travel within Lane County. For every completed survey, $1 will be donated to Lane Arts Council or Florence Regional Arts Alliance for those living in the coastal area. For each person who signs up to participate in future Community Research surveys, an additional $1 will be donated. This is a quick way for you to help collect information that we will be able to use while supporting vital community organizations.
Link to Survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/LaneStayPlay2023
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Membership Model Rollout
Travel Lane County introduced its new membership model to current members whose dues payments are due in October, November or December and to members who have purchased a visitor map listing this past year. Stakeholder Relations staff have been processing these membership selections and, if you have yet to respond, we encourage you to contact Megan Temple, Senior Director of Member & Community Engagement, in the coming weeks. We know the holidays get busy and we have a large number of members to process before the end of the year.
We value our more than 500 Travel Lane County members and look forward to adding many more members in 2024.
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Arts and Culture Builds
The Arts & Business Alliance (ABAE) participated in three national economy studies (AEP6, AEP5 and AEP4) led by Americans for the Arts, the nation’s leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts and arts education. The Arts & Economic Prosperity (AEP)® report measures the economic impact of nonprofit arts and cultural organizations on local jobs, income paid to local residents, and revenue generated to local and state governments. The report, which is released every 5 years, examines many factors, including spending by organizations and audience, employment, and tourism. Read up on highlights from the most-recent study or dig into the full report for the full impact of the arts in the City of Eugene.
Randy Cohen, Vice President of Research for the Americans for the Arts, is a featured speaker at this year's Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce 2023 Economic Summit on November 9. Register to attend this exciting day of informative economic presentations and learn what's driving Lane County's economy today and into the future.
Florence participated in the AEP study for the first time this year. A Community Celebration will be held on Wednesday, November 8, 2023 from 4-5:30 p.m. at the Florence Events Center, so mark your calendars to attend a learn about the incredible impacts the arts is having.
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Save the Date!
Travel Lane County Holiday Party | December 5 | 530-7 p.m.
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Vonnie Mikkelsen is Director of the Year!
Congratulations to Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Vonnie Mikkelsen who was named the 2023 Oregon State Chamber Director of the the Year by the Oregon State Chamber of Commerce during their Leadership Conference in October.
If you haven't seen the Springfield Chamber's new branding and webpage, be sure to click on the link above. It looks great!
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LCOG's Metro Television's Moyer Wins National Award
Neil Moyer, Metro Television Program Manager, has been honored with the Brian Wilson Memorial Award for Programming Excellence by the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors (NATOA). This international award is presented annually to a NATOA member who has made major contributions to government programming.
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The Chronicle Garners 21 Awards
Congratulations to Noel Nash and the team at The Chronicle! The Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association last week announced winners of the state contest, recognizing The Chronicle with 21 editorial awards for its work in 2022 – including four first-place awards, and a prestigious General Excellence honor for the fourth consecutive year.
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Airport Improvements Continue
While the Eugene Airport team eyes terminal expansion with the addition of a Concourse C, other improvements continue to move forward making flying EUG a great choice. Read Soar to New Heights with Eugene Airport to get caught up on air service, terminal offerings and recent improvements.
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Chamber Music Amici Seeks Artist
Chamber Music Amici announces a call to Oregon artists for its annual art commission, to use the digital images of three original works created for this commission and two more works from the artist’s existing portfolio for use in promoting CMA’s next season. Artists retain all rights to their work, and all media types, from graphic design to water color to multimedia/collage, are welcomed. CMA invites Oregon artists to submit an application by Friday, November 10, 2023.
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Welcome New Hotel Staff
Mereté Hotel Management announces the appointment of Tim Smith as the new Vice President of Operations and Jill Brewster as the new Regional Director of Sales. In these pivotal roles, Mr. Smith and Mrs. Brewster will support the continued growth and success of Mereté's portfolio. Welcome Tim and Jill!
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Lane Transit District Recognized
Lane Transit District (LTD) has been awarded the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting from the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) for its annual comprehensive financial report for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2022.
Thank you to Madeline Saldaña, LTD Transportation Outreach Specialist, for presenting LTD's Employer Programs information at the October Group Business Marketing Meeting. LTD's Group Bus Pass Program is used by many hospitality businesses and could be something your business/organization can utilize to attract and retain employees. Learn more at LTD.org/Group-Pass.
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Hearing Loop Grant Nears Expiration
In early 2023, Travel Lane County began using budgeted funds to begin installing hearing loops at area hotels and attractions. In late spring, the budget was enhanced when we received a Travel Oregon grant to continue the work this fiscal year. The grant funds expire December 31, 2023 and our hope is to complete as many installations as possible before this date. Roughly 30 hotels and attractions have loops installed and we are assessing a number of meetings spaces and performance venues to determine feasibility and cost for these locations. Hotel front desks and hospitality business sales counters are quick and easy installations and our program covers 80% of the cost, so if you are interested please contact Connor Nolan our Destination Development Manager right away.
Creating a more accessible destination will allow more people with disabilities to visit the Eugene, Cascades & Coast region. Watch for additional opportunities to learn about and invest in accessibility programs through Travel Lane County.
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David's Chair Brings Beach Accessibility to Florence
David's Chair delivered an all-terrain track chair to Florence in late October. The chair allows people with mobility challenges to get closer to the surf, providing amazing experiences at no cost to the user. Huge thanks to Driftwood Shores Resort for making space available to store the chair and to the local volunteers who will assist in connecting users to the chair. A reservation system will be available following training for the volunteers and completion of the online reservation system. Stay tuned for additional details.
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Cellar Season Follows Bountiful Harvest
Fall foliage is peaking around the region and many South Willamette Valley Wineries are celebrating a bumper crop of grapes. Sweet Cheeks Winery General Manager, Jessica Thomas sums it up by saying, "Many wineries in the South Willamette Valley are wrapping up the harvest. We had a lingering winter, late spring, and very fast summer and this combination brought forward a beautiful quality fruit, and for many vineyards, a high yield. This is good news as the 2022 vintage was a very low yield. Harvest is a very exciting time, but also incredibly labor intensive and one of the most important aspects of winemaking. Next for wineries will be putting their barrel aged wines into the "cellar," meaning into the barrels to begin a secondary fermentation process. The stainless steel aged wines are resting and getting ready for a late winter/early spring bottling. This timeframe is known as cellar season. The vineyard crews can take a sigh of relief before starting the entire growing process over again. The winemaking team will still be hard at work monitoring the ferments, but can return to normal hours. Cellar season is one of the best times to visit our local wineries. With lower visitation, you have more opportunity to talk with the wineries, and enjoy local wines while staying cozy inside the tasting rooms."
For additional inspiration, visit our Wine page to learn about urban wine tasting options or visiting our award-winning South Willamette Valley wineries.
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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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