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Can rural WA make tourism sustainable?

A new state initiative aims to help rural areas develop their tourism programs, while addressing both potential profits and pitfalls.

Park ranger Annemarie Randall, right, speaks with a visitor near the Paradise Visitor Center at Mount Rainier National Park. (Amanda Snyder/ Crosscut)

Like many other rural areas, the northeast Washington counties of Ferry, Pend Oreille and Stevens have sought to diversify their economy as their primary industries – ranching, timber and mining – have dwindled in recent years.

Community and government officials have long known about the region’s natural assets, such as the 1.5 million-acre Colville National Forest, for outdoor recreation. But many saw the beautiful landscape mostly as a way to attract new businesses and workers to the region. 

Then more visitors started showing up at the region’s trailheads, waterways and campgrounds during the pandemic. 

This story is part of a Crosscut focus on tourism, Open for Visitors

“All of a sudden, we have all these new people camping, recreating and hiking,” said Shelly Stevens, who oversees regional marketing efforts for the Tri County Economic Development District, which aims to develop business growth in the three counties. 

That made the region a prime candidate for the State of Washington Tourism’s new Rural Tourism Support program. The nonprofit tasked with running the state tourism program had prioritized rural destination development in its tourism strategy. 

Over the past several months, community and business leaders worked with the organization to develop a strategic plan to help the area develop as a destination and get the word out to potential visitors. 

But for Stevens, it was also important to build its tourism sector in a way that didn’t impact residents’ quality of life. 

“If you look at other really popular tourist destinations that cater to outdoor recreation [visitors], many of them have been loved to death. It’s been changed; then the economy changes in a way these communities haven’t anticipated,” she said. “We saw this strategic planning process as a way to get ahead of that.”

Rowena Nichols, left, and June Hallett, center, with their dogs PJ, Pick and Darling sit outside the visitors center at Mount Rainier National Park on Thursday, June 23, 2022. The family is visiting Rowena from Arkansas. (Amanda Snyder/ Crosscut)

More than marketing

While many think of marketing when state tourism programs come to mind, organizations can’t neglect other tasks, such as destination development and management, said David Blandford, executive director for State of Washington Tourism. 

Some areas of the state — Seattle, for example — are well-established destinations known by visitors. Many rural areas have attractions, such as hiking trails or winery tasting rooms, that could draw visitors. But they generally don’t have the financial or other support to fully develop a strategy to attract visitors and sustain an industry that provides dollars to local businesses and fills municipal tax coffers. 

The Rural Tourism Support program provides a structure for rural communities to develop a long-term strategy, Blandford said.

The Tri County Economic Development District and the northeast Washington area are the first participants in the program. The program will head to north-central Washington this fall — State of Washington Tourism has announced that it will work with the North Central Washington Economic Development District on a tourism strategy for the region , which includes Chelan, Douglas and Okanogan counties and the Colville Confederated Tribes.

The tri-county region in northeast Washington still doesn’t have a designated agency for tourism. Stevens and the Tri County Economic Development District have focused primarily on developing promotional graphics and educational YouTube videos in-house, she said. 

Public meetings where community members could provide feedback on building the region’s tourism sector have been part of the process. The sessions, facilitated by sustainable-tourism expert Kristin Dahl , focused on marketing and branding, outdoor recreation and turning a good destination into a great one. 

Park ranger Cat Burleaud swears in Zaydaan Siddiqui as a Junior Park Ranger at Mount Rainier National Park on Thursday, June 23, 2022. Children can earn badges at National Parks through the NPS Junior Ranger program. (Amanda Snyder/ Crosscut)

Stevens found value in holding meetings that included a broad section of the community, including government officials, business officials, residents and tribal representatives. Representatives from the region’s Indigenous communities also participated. 

Stevens said it’s a priority to partner with the tribes to ensure that tourism efforts respectfully integrate Indigenous communities' history and culture and their separate tourism development efforts. “We need people to be respectful and sensitive about their culture and heritage,” she said. 

The Kalispel Tribe of Indians sent two representatives, one to address the economic impacts and one to address a natural-resource perspective. 

The tribe is located inside Pend Oreille County, which is 65% public land and has a population of about 14,000 residents. It was important to address the importance of factoring in the preservation of wildlife and public lands when crafting a tourism strategy, said Mike Lithgow, policy analyst for the tribe’s natural resources department. 

“There is a balance to be struck there,” he said. 

In addition, there is a deep tribal history and culture behind many of those lands that could be shared with visitors, he said. He believes integrating those aspects — through tools such as signage or guides — could further provide visitors with a better sense of place. And that inclusion “makes people who live here feel more comfortable with this new influx of tourism activity,” he said. 

Visitors hike the snow trail near the Paradise Visitor Center at Mount Rainier National Park. (Amanda Snyder/ Crosscut)

By the end of the process, the organization and the community came up with different projects to focus on in the coming months and years. They included improving its online presence to provide information to prospective visitors, supporting entrepreneurs interested in developing  businesses to serve visitors and training residents in the region as part of an ambassador program. The organization will be eligible to apply for grants from State of Washington Tourism to help pay for these efforts. 

These ambassadors will guide visitors not only on what to do at the destination, but also on things that might not occur to visitors, such as the various roadways in the rural area or how to ensure there is no trace of a visitor, such as trash, in a campsite or hiking trail. 

Stevens of the Tri County Economic Development District wants to build on the organization’s efforts to push for responsible recreation, including a series of animated how-to videos created during the pandemic. 

“That kind of education is going to be important,” she said. 

Visitors hike near the Paradise Visitor Center at Mount Rainier National Park on Thursday, June 23, 2022. (Amanda Snyder/ Crosscut)

Sustainable tourism 

Indeed, promoting “responsible” or “sustainable” tourism is not just a crucial part of rural destination development; it’s at the center of the state’s new tourism brand . 

While state tourism officials want to invite new and repeat visitors to immerse themselves in all that the state has to offer, the messaging will emphasize the importance of being respectful to the communities they’re visiting and to adopt good practices, such as proper waste disposal while camping or hiking, Blandford said. 

Many tourism officials are now looking at a triple bottom line: profit, people and planet, said Dipra Jha, assistant director of the School of Hospitality Business Management at Washington State University and a board member for State of Washington Tourism. 

Jha said the pandemic halt to most travel provided popular destinations around the world with a moment to evaluate the adverse effects of  “over-tourism”: when visitors overtake the destination’s environment and negatively impact residents' quality of life.

Washington can try to ensure that doesn’t happen here by adopting different strategies, including encouraging travel to less-visited locations that provide an experience similar to popular destinations and education on how to take care of the destination and its people, Jha said. 

For example, the Snoqualmie Tribal Ancestral Lands Movement in western Washington aims to tell about the tribe’s connection to the land and different recreational best practices, such as staying on the trail and picking up trash. 

“We’re educating the visitor to come here and have a great time, but to make sure [they’re] doing it responsibly and ethically and they’re leaving the place better than they found it,” he said.

From left: Anna, Li, Cherri and Xue Zhang take a lunch break outside the Paradise Vistiors Center at Mount Rainier National Park on Thursday, June 23, 2022. (Amanda Snyder/ Crosscut)

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L atest IVS and NVS Results

This factsheet tells the story of visitation to Western Australia in the year ending December 2023, including a comparison against pre-COVID levels. 

Download the latest Overview of Visitation to Western Australia - YE December 2023

Tourism Research Australia publish additional results and data tables on their website. To access this data visit Tourism Research Australia's  Data and Research  page.  Details on the IVS and NVS methodologies can also be found on Tourism Research Australia's Methodology page.

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Washington tourism marketing authority.

Tourism is the fourth-largest industry in the state, employing more than 205,000 residents.

The Washington Tourism Marketing Authority (WTMA) is charged with overseeing the state’s tourism strategy and working with industry leaders and tourism marketing professionals to attract visitors to every part of the state.

2022 Tourism Industry Dashboard Report

Industry Overview

Tourism generates more than $21.9 billion annually statewide.

The industry puts adds nearly $2.4 billion to the state’s coffers in the form of generated tax revenue.

Visitor Spending

On an average day, visitors spend $60 million a day in Washington. 

Our Tourism Partners

To execute the state’s tourism strategy, the WTMA works with the following public and private partners.

State of Washington Tourism

State of Washington Tourism is the official Destination Marketing Organization for the State of Washington. The organization is a membership-based nonprofit that was established after the closure of the Washington State Tourism Office in 2011.

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The Washington State Department of Commerce provides administrative support to the board and the WTMA at large. The Office of Economic Development & Competitiveness (OEDC) oversees this support within the agency.

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Industry professionals are encouraged to apply to the WTMA. As board positions open, new members are selected from a pool of applicants by the Governor’s office.  

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About state of washington tourism.

As the official destination marketing and management organization for Washington, State of Washington Tourism (SWT) is responsible for advocating, promoting, developing, and sustaining destination tourism for the state.

Industry stakeholders are invited to explore resources, programs, marketing materials, press releases, and more. For stories, guides, and travel resources, head to our consumer website, stateofWAtourism.com .

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• State of Washington Tourism to Administer $3.5M in EDA Grants for Tourism Recovery December 4, 2023
• Recipients Announced for SWT’s Tourism Sustainability Grants November 6, 2023
• State Tourism Industry Presents 2023 Awards, Inducts Industry Veterans Into Tourism Hall Of Leadership October 30, 2023
• SWT, Port of Seattle Appoint Black Diamond as UK & Ireland PR Agency August 2, 2023
• Walla Walla Selected for Rural Tourism Support Program June 5, 2023
• Latest Tourism Statistics Point to Industry’s Potential to Drive Additional Revenue for Washington State May 5, 2023

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On the road: Tourism in Washington remains vital to state’s economy

An artist performs at Chinook Fest, a musical festival held in Naches in Yakima Valley, which also features tourism related to outdoor venues and recreation. Courtesy photo/Yakima Valley Tourism/Cody Beebe

Paddle boarders enjoy Lake Chelan, one of the major tourist destinations in Washington.

Concertgoers enjoy live music at Yakima Valley’s VanArnam Vineyard’s 2022 summer concert series. Vineyards and wine country events are among the biggest tourist attractions in eastern Washington, and Yakima Valley in particular.

EASTERN WASHINGTON — Tourism in eastern Washington may have been hurt by the COVID-19 pandemic, much like the rest of the state and the rest of the world, but it is recovering quicker than western Washington, said Michelle Thana, Director of Marketing with State of Washington Tourism (SWT).

“You have a little bit different patterns of visitation in Eastern Washington,” said Thana. “You don’t necessarily have the numbers that are coming in from Seattle, but it’s growing and that’s also where a lot of the potential for growth and tourism is – east of the Cascades.”

Speaking more broadly, about Washington state as a whole, Thana said that tourism is very important to the state’s economy, as it makes up the state’s fourth largest industry, but this does not mean that tourism in Washington is well funded.

“A lot of parts of the US have seen full recovery. One thing is that Washington doesn’t have a lot of funding for promoting tourism. We’re one of the lowest, if not the lowest state,” said Thana.

According to a press release from the SWT, Washington’s tourism industry has still not fully recovered from COVID-19, and is lagging behind other states. The release specified that visitor spending in Washington, when adjusted for inflation, was only 86.3% of 2019 levels, and the volume of visitation was 93%.

The press release also noted that in 2022, tourism supported more than 220,000 jobs in the State of Washington, a 10.5% increase over the previous year but still 7.7% below 2019 levels. These job sectors included food and beverage, recreation and entertainment, lodging, retail trade and more. According to the release, prior to the pandemic, the leisure/hospitality segment led job growth in the state before declining by 40% in 2020.

Eastern Washington’s primary tourism industries are less focused on the international travel that is so important on the western side of Washington and more focused on attractions and activities that include wine country, outdoor recreation and sports, said Thana. She also said that some of the larger cities have a fairly sizable convention market.

Thana said that SWT works directly with individual counties in their statewide effort to increase tourism.

“We try to work with the local destination marketing organizations, for example, Yakima Valley Tourism or Visit Spokane. We’ll partner with them just to kind of understand what their priorities are and what their messaging is.”

Tourism is not just important on a state scale, its vital for these counties and smaller entities. Kate Hudson, Public Relations Manager of Visit Spokane, provided some statistics that give context to just how important tourism is for Spokane in particular.

“Tourism is a major economic driver for Spokane County. In 2022, tourism generated $1.4 billion in economic impact and accounted for more than 17,000 jobs. Tourism also provided $1,045 in tax relief for every household in Spokane County,” said Hudson.

Hudson said that Spokane’s recovery is on par with the rest of the country, which differs from SWT’s assessment of the state as a whole.

“The disruption of COVID is behind us, and the future for conventions in Spokane will return more robust than ever. In keeping trend with the rest of the country, Spokane should exceed its all-time 2019 high by 2025,” Hudson said in an email to the Basin Business Journal.

According to Visit Spokane’s 2022 Tourism Economic Impact report, Spokane’s visitor volume was 9.64 million visitors, which is the highest since 2019’s 9.76 million visitors.

Another major tourist spot in eastern Washington is Yakima Valley, said Thana. Yakima Valley Tourism’s annual report for 2022 echoes the State of Washington Tourism’s sentiments on the industry – it is in recovery but still lagging.

According to the report, tourism is nonetheless still a large contributor to Yakima County’s economy. Travelers spent $342 million dollars in the Yakima Valley, and supported more than 4,600 jobs for Yakima Valley residents.

“Tourism is really important to Washington. It’s bounced back quite a bit. Not all the way, but quite a bit, but there’s definitely room to get all the way back…but we think that there’s an opportunity to grow the economic impact even more,” said Thana.

Courtesy photo/Lake Chelan Chamber of Commerce

Courtesy photo/Yakima Valley Tourism

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Trump Media Stock Plunges 18%, Extending Recent Losses

Funds that bet on a fall were set to profit as the parent of Truth Social came under renewed pressure after it registered new shares for a potential sale.

By Matthew Goldstein and Joe Rennison

Shares of former President Donald J. Trump’s social media company plunged on Monday after the company filed to register the potential sale of tens of millions of additional shares.

Trump Media & Technology’s stock fell 18.3 percent, erasing hundreds of millions of dollars from the company’s market value — and putting a dent in Mr. Trump’s majority stake. Since a surge in its first days of trading as Trump Media, which lifted the value of the company to about $8 billion at one point last month, the company’s shares have dropped by around 60 percent.

Trump Media was expected to register the potential sale of new shares after the completion of its merger last month with Digital World Acquisition Corp., a cash-rich shell company known as a SPAC. Companies that merge with SPACs, or special purpose acquisition companies, typically file a registration statement a few weeks after the deal is completed for the sale of additional securities held by early investors.

In the filing, Trump Media — the parent company of Truth Social — registered more than 146 million shares of stock that could be sold, along with 21 million shares that were converted after the exercise of warrants, which enable an investor to buy shares at a preset price. When a SPAC goes public, it issues warrants to investors that can later be converted into shares.

Even though the company said the investors weren’t planning to sell those shares immediately, investors reacted to the notion that if a flood of new shares were to hit the market, they could depress the company’s stock price.

Also included in the filing were an additional 36 million shares given to Mr. Trump as part of an “earnout” bonus based on the company’s stock price. With those additional shares, Mr. Trump has about 115 million shares of Trump Media, or 65 percent of the company’s stock.

Some of the shares registered for sale included stock held by large hedge funds such as Anson Funds, Hudson Bay, Mangrove Partners and Washington Muse Investments, which had acquired discounted shares or warrants from Digital World before the merger with Trump Media. Others, like Millennium Partners and Pentwater Capital, had built up stakes in the company by buying warrants.

Trump Media will not receive any of the proceeds from shares sold by investors, but it could receive tens of millions in cash from the exercise of the warrants.

Trump Media said in a news release on Monday that the filing did not imply that the shareholders listed in the statement were planning to sell shares. The company also noted that the filing did not alter a six-month restriction Mr. Trump and other big shareholders from selling their shares before sometime in late September.

The registration statement must still be reviewed and approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission before any stockholders can sell shares.

Some investors had been betting that Trump Media’s stock price would collapse after the expected share registration was filed, seeking to profit from the move. Fund managers including Marshall Wace and Zazove Associates have been large holders of Trump Media’s warrants, according to regulatory filings. Those warrants have been trading at a much lower price than Trump Media’s shares, in part because they were yet to be registered and also because of the ferocious rally in the stock when it first began trading.

To profit from this difference, the funds shorted the stock, betting that it would fall once the warrants were registered, according to people with knowledge of the funds’ trades. Marshall Wace and Zazove declined to comment.

The trade helped drive a spate of demand from investors looking to bet on a decline in the company’s share price, making Trump Media one of the most shorted stocks in the United States. Even before the filing arrived, Trump Media shares had fallen more than 50 percent since their first day of trading after the merger, amid doubts about Truth Social’s ability to generate revenue and profit.

Last year, Trump Media lost $58 million on revenue of $4.1 million — all of it from advertising on Truth Social.

The warrants have also fallen sharply over the past couple of weeks, down roughly 50 percent since the start of the month.

Short-sellers bet that the price of a stock will fall by borrowing shares of a company and selling them into the market, hoping to buy them back later at a lower price, before returning the shares to the lender and pocketing the difference as profit.

Matthew Unterman of S3 Partners, a research firm, said a potential flood of new shares coming into the market would make it easier for short-sellers to bet against shares of Trump Media. At the moment, he said, Trump Media is one of the more costly stocks to short because the company doesn’t have a large supply of shares available to borrow.

Matthew Goldstein covers Wall Street and white-collar crime and housing issues. More about Matthew Goldstein

Joe Rennison writes about financial markets, a beat that ranges from chronicling the vagaries of the stock market to explaining the often-inscrutable trading decisions of Wall Street insiders. More about Joe Rennison