Visit Central Oregon seeks stable funding for air service, shifts marketing strategy

Visit Central Oregon (VCO) told the Deschutes County Board of Commissioners on April 23 that it plans to set aside dedicated reserves for air service and to rebalance grant and marketing dollars as part of its FY26 programmatic plan.

The organization’s president and CEO, Scott Larson, said VCO expects Deschutes County’s FY26 payment to be about $3,305,854 — roughly flat with the current year’s projected county contribution of $3,301,914. He told commissioners VCO’s board is recommending placement of $500,000 into a stable instrument as a general reserve and designating roughly $334,000 as an “air service reserve” to support new or fragile routes.

"Whether we use that for expansion of new routes, sustaining routes, or additional marketing, it's important that we maintain that service," Larson said, noting the airport supports both visitor and resident needs.

Larson outlined other FY26 priorities including a marketing RFP that could consolidate VCO’s advertising and creative work under a single agency of record, reductions to the partnerships line currently used for event sponsorships, and a move toward a cooperative marketing model with local chambers and DMOs. He said the partnerships line is being “rethought” so VCO can stretch limited TRT (transient room tax) dollars by requiring local match when supporting events.

The board and staff also discussed the regional DMO grant dollars VCO receives from Travel Oregon (referred to in the presentation by Larson as "Bridal Oregon") and how those funds are used for stewardship and grant-making across the tri-county footprint. Larson said VCO receives roughly $1 million a year from that program — about 25% of its overall revenue — but that Travel Oregon projects a near-term decline tied to winter-season performance; the VCO expectation is for a largely flat year-over-year budget on net, with only a county-side reduction near $70,000.

Larson said VCO awarded $280,000 from its “future fund” this most recent cycle to local nonprofit projects (about 20 applications totaling nearly $900,000 in requests) and that, since the fund’s inception, VCO has returned roughly $1.8–$1.9 million in TRT-backed grants to the region (Larson provided that range during his presentation).

Board members and VCO representatives also discussed staffing changes. Larson said VCO eliminated its global sales manager position after a recent five‑year strategic planning process did not show stakeholder support for the role; he also said the DMO is considering redirecting an internship slot historically held through a University of Oregon/Travel Oregon partnership to a smaller regional DMO that needs capacity.

Commissioners raised questions about the marketing RFP, local vendor participation and the size of the contract (Larson acknowledged the contract will be more than $1 million per year and said the RFP included local, regional and national firms). They also praised VCO’s work to align marketing with shoulder and winter-season demand, and to promote “dark skies” tourism — a growing niche VCO described as attracting international visitors who then generate overnight stays.

Tom O’Shea, chair of the VCO board, told commissioners the regions’ leisure market has rebounded strongly since the pandemic and said VCO should continue to invest in off‑season strategy and grant funding for regional amenities.

Larson closed by saying VCO will adopt measurable KPIs as part of its multiyear strategic plan and report those annually to stakeholders.

Ending: Commissioners thanked the group and noted VCO’s presentation will inform the county’s upcoming budget review. No formal vote or funding action was taken at the meeting; VCO’s FY26 county request will proceed through the county’s regular budget process.