Open Meetings
FAQ: Economic Impact of Tourism and the VCB
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
We often get questions about the importance of tourism to our local economy. We also get questions about who we are and why our role is so important. Here are our answers!
Q: What is Tourism and Why is it So Important to our Communities?
A: Travel and Tourism bring outside money into our economy when visitors from more than 50 miles away come to our communities for recreation, overnight stays, to visit friends and family, and to conduct business. This outside money adds to the economic vitality of our communities. See our latest Economic Impact Statement.
A: These monies are spent on lodging, dining, attractions, shopping and more. Proprietors of these businesses then spend those funds on payroll, buying goods and services, paying rent, and other such expenses. See this Chart for more on how tourist dollars are spread out around our communities.
Q: How much money are we talking about?
A: In real dollars, the Tourism sector is our third largest industry in Coos County. In 2023, visitors to Coos County spent more than $329.5 Million on accommodations, dining & groceries, arts, recreation, entertainment, shopping, and more. Visitors to Coos Bay, North Bend, Charleston spent more than $147.9 Million of that $329.5 Million. During the pandemic, this spending dropped by almost $100 Million, primarily in our retail and restaurant sectors, but also in our arts, recreation, and entertainment sector. Post-pandemic, in 2021, we saw a recovery of more than half the amount we lost, or $58 Million in visitor spending, and in 2022 we exceeded the visitor spending we had seen in 2019 by more than $22 million. 2023 saw an additional 8.6% increase in visitor spending.
Q: What is the VCB?
A: The Coos Bay-North Bend-CharlestonVisitor & Convention Bureau (VCB) is the designated Destination Marketing Organization (DMO) for our three communities. Our job is to bring tourists/visitors/travelers to our area, thereby bringing in that outside money to increase our area’s economic vitality.
Q: How does the VCB Bring Visitors to the area? Wouldn’t they come anyway?
A: Contrary to popular belief, visitors don’t just show up in a destination! Not without some encouragement - through a desire to experience what a destination has to offer. For potential visitors to know and desire what a destination has to offer, they have to know about the destination! Through our advertising and marketing programs, the VCB builds that desire in visitors. Our marketing programs include showing off the beauty of our area, showing visitors enjoying our outdoor adventures, showing them dining in our wonderful restaurants and visiting our attractions, and promoting our annual festivals and events. Our programs include advertising in print publications, on digital platforms provided by a variety of media, through social media, on various local television stations around the state, on billboards, and through our own branded materials such as our visitor guides, newsletters, and website.
Q: When was the VCB created and how is it Funded?
A: The VCB was created through an Intergovernmental Agreement between the cities of Coos Bay & North Bend in the late 1990s. In 2010, the Coquille Indian Tribe was added to the agreement and in 2022, Coos County was added when Coos County voters approved a lodging tax in a prescribed area around the quaint fishing village of Charleston. The Lodging Tax rate for our area is 9.5%. This is collected for overnight stays at lodging properties within the city limits of Coos Bay and North Bend, and within the Charleton area, as well as at the Coquille Indian Tribe properties of The Mill Casino * Hotel & RV Park. The VCB receives approximately 39% of all lodging taxes collected by our four funding partners to conduct our programs. The remainder of the lodging tax funds collected by the cities and the Tribe (approximately 61%) are retained by the taxing entity and used for a variety of projects within those jurisdictions. For Coos County, 30% of the lodging tax is retained by the county with the other 31% dedicated to the replacement of the Charleston Visitor Center being overseen by the Charleston Merchants Association. These four taxing entities spend their portions on such projects as public safety, code enforcement, event support services, beautification projects, and other governmental services.
Q: How does the Coos Bay Visitor Information Center fit into all of this?
A: In 2018, the City of Coos Bay approached the VCB to bring Visitor Services under the umbrella of the VCB. As Visitor Services are an integral part of any destination marketing effort, bringing the Visitor Center under the VCB made organizational sense. The Coos Bay Visitor Center is managed by a staff member of the VCB and manned by a cadre of volunteers. The North Bend and Charleston Visitor Centers are not under the VCB but are managed by the City of North Bend and the Charleston Merchants Association, respectively.
A: Oregon’s Adventure Coast is the Brand we use to market the Coos Bay, North Bend, and Charleston area. It speaks to the abundance of adventures to be found along our part of the Oregon Coast. Recently we added our community names to our brand to ensure visitors know we are promoting this specific part of the coast!
Do you have more questions that were not addressed here? Please email Janice Langlinais, Executive Director of the VCB, at janice@VisitOAC.com .
