Eastside Tourism Roundtable Who are we? What is our region? What is our brand/identity?

Development process Map environment and take asset inventory Develop a mission and vision statement Develop guiding principles Develop a strategy Identify funding opportunities Draft an organizational structure Agree to a one & two year work plan Establish performance measurements Implement management structure

What do we sell? August 7, 2007 Marketing meeting Active outdoor activities/recreation Historic and cultural sites Scenic (Mountains to Sound Greenway) Shopping Special events/festivals Arts and culture Wine Proximity to Seattle Authentic Northwest experience “Safe, affordable family fun”

Strategic Partners Cities (Newcastle, Issaquah, Snoqualmie, North Bend, Redmond, Woodinville, Bellevue, Kirkland, Mercer Island, Duvall, Roslyn, Cle Elum) Counties (King, Kittitas) Snoqualmie Nation Puget Sound Regional Council Enterprise Seattle 4Culture Mountains to Sound Greenway Seattle Convention and Visitors Bureau Eastside Arts Coalition Hotel community Shopping centers Festival management Chamber of Commerce Economic development professionals (Cities) Downtown Associations PACE Suncadia Kirkland Performance Center Rowley Enterprises Argosy Cruises

Vision Statement “A Visitors Bureau that markets the experiences that make the Eastside a compelling destination”

Mission Statement “Promote the cultural, historical, natural, recreational attractions on the Eastside by building a partnership, developing a brand, and marketing the destination”

Guiding Principles (1) Develop a network of Eastside tourism stakeholders to promote the interests of the entire region Facilitate collective marketing opportunities Primarily focus on sustainable economic development and vitality Deliver exceptional (ROI) to stakeholders

Guiding Principles (2) Create an ‘inclusive’ rather than an ‘exclusive’ organization Maintain excellent communications between member organizations, Board of Directors, and staff Promote ‘Green Tourism’ and make management decisions to support ‘Green’ initiatives

Strategy Brand region (Napa Valley model) Support and encourage strong branding of our member communities Leverage funds to promote our amenities to regional, national and international guests Develop cooperative promotion opportunities Develop multi-site itineraries Work with Seattle and other regional tourism organizations

Branding suggestions Mountains to Sound Greenway Visitors Bureau Washington State’s Central Park Seattle’s Eastside Mountains to Sound Playground Outside Seattle (east-bound)

Products and Services (2-year plan) Develop a brand Launch a regional website (activity based) Produce a visitors guide Maintain an electronic press kit Maintain a ‘news bureau’ (an internet site press room) to announce important events and activities in the region

Products and Services (cont’d) Develop an advertising program to increase awareness of area, especially in the shoulder and off-season Participate in consumer trade shows, media fams, and other tourism promotion opportunities Maintain a photo collection Generate press releases

Products and Services (cont’d) Develop a group tour planner guide (electronic and print) Develop and maintain a meeting facilities guide for the region Organize sales blitzes and sales/media missions Develop cooperative advertising promotions (all media)

Funding 2007 City and County contributions Corporate contributions State support??? Kittitas County? Port of Seattle? Other?

Funding Tourism Promotion Area (RCW ) House Bill 1276 (State tourism funding) Membership?? LTAC funds Assessments Participation fees Other

Tourism Promotion Area History Established in 2004 (Spokane) Objective to fund DMOs and protect their funding from PFDs Who is currently using or soon will be (Spokane, Walla Walla, Tri-Cities, Wenatchee, Clark County, Liberty Lake, Snohomish County, Kitsap County, Pierce County) Most DMOs are currently considering

Tourism Promotion Area What is it? An assessment on an occupied hotel room per night, not to exceed $2 There are 6 potential categories of assessment All monies are governed by the hospitality community and cannot be used for capital expenditures Our proposed work plan meets the criteria

Tourism Promotion Area Anticipated revenue streams East King County has 6,000 rooms Estimated average collection of $1/night Estimated occupancy of 70% Estimated budget $1,533,000 annually

Tourism Promotion Area 2006 collections Tri-Cities($1.50/rm)$ 800,000 Clark Cnty($2.00/rm)$ 913,600 Spokane Cnty ($ ) $1,533,000 Liberty Lake($ )$ 24,400 Yakima($ )$ 352,000

Tourism Promotion Area Hotel inventory Bellevue3714 Issaquah 382 Kirkland 724 Redmond 846 Snoqualmie 95 Snoqualmie Pass 81 Woodinville 88

Tourism Promotion Area Obstacles to incorporate Need to form a DMO (501-C6) Need to amend the definition of “Legislative Authority” (Counties with populations over 1 million are excluded) 60% ‘yes’ vote by number of rooms in defined TPA region (weighted vote) Designate the “Legislative Authority”

Tourism Promotion Area Next steps Do we proceed on a legislative initiative? Do we become a real organization? Do we get city commitments before we begin the legislative initiative? Do we hire state expert to guide us through the process? If so, what is the budget and how is it funded?

RCW Definitions Original Language (2) “Legislative authority” means the legislative authority of any county with a population greater than forty thousand but less than one million, or of any city or town within such a county including unclassified cities or towns operating under special charters.

RCW Definitions (2) Added language “In counties with populations greater than one million, a legislative authority may be established by three or more participating cities or towns within the county that are also within a single tourism promotion area”.

Rep. Fred Jarrett 41 st District Bill will be dropped by 1/18/08 Jarrett has secured support Need to thank Rep. Glenn Anderson 5 th District Start working the hill (Steve Buckner), Skip Rowley’s lobbyist Local community needs to voice support

Next steps for the Hotel Council Form a governing board (Hoteliers) Define what tourism means Set-up the governance structure Define (6) categories within TPA Decide on the “Legislative Authority” Create an Eastside DMO Request State set-up a TPA Allocate revenues (Hoteliers decide)

What makes a TPA different It is controlled by the Hotel community It cannot be used for capital projects Funds can be used to create tourism venues (granting organization) If the legislative authority does not endorse the hoteliers’ work plan and budget, the hoteliers can dissolve the TPA The work plan and budget prepared by the DMO is reviewed by the Hotel Council for approval

If it’s a go Contract with the Spokane law firm to set up the TPA ($5,000 estimated cost) Work through the process (6-9 months) Obtain 60% vote by member hotels (weighted by # of rooms) Define participating cities Establish TPA

House Bill 1276 Increase WA State Tourism Funding Increased State Funding by $3,500,000 Monies from WSCTC (Room Tax) Funding opportunity Matching grants ($200,000) Focus on rural communities Focus on eco-tourism

Governance Model The governance model will be driven by our funding model City/County funding Private/Public Stakeholder groups Membership based TPA: RCW HB 1276

Governance Suggested principles Governance meeting 8/13/07 Establish a 501-C3 or 501-C6 Have a Board of Directors and Executive Committee Executive Committee would have final say Do not create a membership based organization (e.g. Chamber of Commerce) Represent all tourism attractions and tourism related businesses

Governance (cont.) Work plan would be developed and submitted to the Board Final work plan would be approved by Executive Committee Each member of the Executive Committee would have an equal vote No determination on committees or committee structure Ultimate authorizing body would be the Executive Committee

Next steps Do we move forward? Do we form a TPA? If so, do we contract with the attorney? If so, how should we pay for services? Do we contract with the Cities for 2008? What Cities should be involved? What is our time line? What committees need to be formed? When should we meet again?