Experience Olympia & Beyond outlines 2025 midyear adjustments and 2026 budget proposal

Experience Olympia & Beyond presented its midyear budget adjustments for 2025 and a proposed budget for 2026 at the Thurston County Board of County Commissioners work session on Oct. 22.

Kelly Campbell, executive director of Experience Olympia & Beyond, said the organization revised its 2025 budget to reflect actual receipts and city LTAC (lodging tax advisory committee) awards and outlined a 2026 proposal that keeps marketing and sales as primary expenditures. “Each city's LTAC award varies annually,” Campbell said, noting the most recent awards the organization reported: Lacey $100,000; Tumwater $43,825; Olympia $168,635; and Yelm $4,000. Campbell said the organization did not apply for the county LTAC in 2025.

The nut graf: The presentation showed continued emphasis on research-driven marketing, media attribution, event sales and sports sponsorships as the means to drive out-of-county visitor spending, while acknowledging grant funding uncertainty for 2026 and staffing constraints.

Campbell explained that Experience Olympia & Beyond receives TPA (tourism promotion assessments) funds with a lag and reported a current forecast of $834,140.75 in receipts, subject to timing and reporting by lodging operators. She told commissioners the group keeps six months of reserves per Destinations International accreditation and invests those reserves to generate modest interest income; she estimated about $25,000 in investment income for 2026 based on recent trends.

Emily Brooks, who presented marketing and research highlights, said visitor research shows 41.2% of visitors stayed overnight and that overnight visitors accounted for 70.7% of total visitor spending in the destination. “For every dollar that we spend, we see roughly $238 back in visitor spending within Thurston County,” Brooks said, describing the organization's media attribution approach that uses pixeling and targeted follow-up advertising to move potential visitors down the booking funnel.

Brooks outlined 2026 marketing tactics: continued search-engine–focused content on experienceolympia.com; seasonally timed digital campaigns; targeted placements in drive markets such as Seattle and Portland; public-relations work including influencer and press trips; and sustained content investment for visitor and byway guides that are distributed digitally and in print.

Campbell and Brooks listed several recent and upcoming activities: a SeaTac Airport advertising placement (Gate D2) for the “You Belong Here” campaign installed Oct. 1; regional buys in Portland; a byway-focused digital campaign; and a three-year commitment to host American Junior Golf Association tournaments at Winter Valley Golf Course in August 2026–28. They also said research tools such as AirDNA and market studies funded through a Washington State Tourism grant are informing strategy and the next visitor guide.

Commissioners asked how Experience Olympia & Beyond plans to support the emerging FIFA fan-zone activity in the region. Campbell said the organization is coordinating with other destination marketing organizations and private partners, and that part of its digital programmatic media budget will target visitors identified as likely soccer fans and build geofenced advertising around points of interest to capture people attending fan-zone activities in nearby cities.

The presentation noted staffing constraints: Campbell said the organization is operating with reduced staff, with some roles vacant since March, and that personnel reductions have shifted some costs into operations and consultant spending.

No formal board action was taken on the presentation. The organization left commissioners with its revised 2025 financials and a draft 2026 budget for further review.

Ending: Commissioners thanked the presenters and asked staff follow-ups about grants and coordination with county marketing or event planning as FIFA-related activity develops.