Dear Tourism Industry Partner:
The Washington State tourism industry is embarking on a new era! The passage of Substitute House Bill 1276 (the “Tourism Bill”) in April, 2007, the formation of the Washington State Tourism Commission, and a new dedicated funding source all allow for a wide range of new opportunities. As part of the move into this new era, the Tourism Commission is embarking on a six year strategic planning effort. Critical to the success of the resulting plan is securing key insights from all Washingtonians who recognize the importance of tourism to the economy. We’d like to invite your participation.
The Washington State Tourism Commission has retained the Radcliffe Company of Spokane and Nichols Tourism Group of Phoenix, AZ, to guide this effort. Mr. Radcliffe and Mr. Nichols have over 50 years of combined experience in destination marketing and management, and have partnered on similar efforts from Alaska to Florida.
In order to build a strong, unified strategic plan for our State's future tourism efforts, we need to hear from key stakeholders and constituents around the state. Your input is valuable. We invite you to participate in any one of a series of “State of the Industry” input sessions during the time period of December 3rd through December 11th. These sessions will allow our planning consultants to gain important insights on critical tourism-related issues facing Washington in the coming years.
Please review the following schedule of meeting dates and locations, and plan to join us at one of these important sessions. In order for us to properly prepare, please RSVP to the contact noted for the specific session you plan to attend. Further information will be posted to our industry website, www.experiencewa.com/industry.
Thank you in advance, and we look forward to meeting with you.
Kind regards,
Marsha Massey, Interim Tourism Director, Washington State Tourism
Schedule of Upcoming Strategic Planning Input Sessions:
DATE: December 3, 2007
TIME: 9:00 am – 12:00 pm
CITY: Spokane
Location: The Kress Gallery
River Park Square – 3rd Floor
Please RSVP to: Bethany
Bluck-hutson@visitspokane.com
509-363-6830
DATE: December 4, 2007
TIME: 9:00 – 12:00 pm
CITY: Tri-Cities
Location: Pasco Red Lion
2525 North 20th Avenue
Pasco, WA 99301
(Close to Tri-Cities Airport)
Please RSVP to: Sue Watt
sue@visittri-cities.com
509-735-8486
DATE: December 5, 2007
TIME: 9:00 am – 12:00 pm
CITY: Wenatchee
Location: Wenatchee Convention Center
121 N. Wenatchee Avenue
Please RSVP to: Caroline Davison
info@wenatcheevalley.org
509-663-3723
DATE: December 6, 2007
TIME: 1:30 pm – 5:00 pm
CITY: Seattle
Location: WA State Convention & Trade Center
800 Convention Place
Seattle, WA 98101
(specific meeting room to be advised.)
Please RSVP to: Kathleen Shepard
kshepard@visitseattle.org
206-461-5837
DATE: December 7, 2007
TIME: 9:00 am – 12:00 pm
CITY: Bellingham
Location: Best Western Lakeway Inn
714 Lakeway Drive
Please RSVP to: Laura Carter
laura@bellingham.org
360-671-3990
DATE: December 10, 2007
TIME: 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm
CITY: Vancouver
Location: Phoenix Inn Suites - Vancouver
12712 SE 2nd Circle
Vancouver, WA
Please RSVP to: Tracy Bowen
admin@southwestwashington.com
360-750-1553 ext. 13
DATE: December 11, 2007
TIME: 9:00 am – 11:30 am
CITY: Kitsap Peninsula/Bremerton area
Location: TBA
Please RSVP to: K.C. Pearson
kc@visitkitsap.com
360-297-8200
