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Wilsonville adopts draft 10-year tourism strategy emphasizing river access, sports and town center connections
Summary
Consultants and staff presented a draft 10-year tourism development strategy that centers on outdoor recreation, sports tournaments, river access and building town-center synergies. The tourism promotion committee will review a final recommendation before the council considers adoption; funding would come from the city’s transient lodging tax.
Wilsonville staff and consultants presented a draft 10-year tourism development strategy at the City Council work session on Feb. 20, outlining objectives to boost river access, sports and recreation visitation, evening entertainment and lodging diversity.
The draft, produced by Whereabouts consultants Matthew Lankamper and Greg Netzer and coordinated by Zoe Monberg, assistant to the city manager and staff liaison to the tourism promotion committee, recommends a multi-pronged approach that emphasizes sports and recreation, “friend-group” wine and wellness visits, and business-to-leisure travel over the next decade.
The plan updates a 2014 strategy that included 49 action items and reflects changes in the visitor economy since the pandemic and the arrival of a new Hilton Garden Inn. Whereabouts said the consultants conducted stakeholder interviews, small focus groups, a community survey and a weekend “secret shop” in Wilsonville to develop a current-state analysis that informed the draft recommendations.
Why it matters: The strategy is intended to increase overnight stays and local spending, stabilize and grow marketing capacity for Explore Wilsonville, and position the city to compete for regional events and family-oriented lodging projects.
Key recommendations and near-term priorities
- Build destination management capacity: develop a destination ambassadorship toolkit for local businesses; explore increasing the city’s transient lodging tax (TLT) to stabilize marketing funds; increase Explore Wilsonville’s visibility at industry events; and define the threshold for a future standalone tourism organization or staff position.
- Accelerate sports and recreation: evaluate bicycle amenities and funding strategies for park and sports facility investment; conduct a feasibility study for an indoor sports and entertainment complex with adjacent lodging to capture tournament-driven overnight stays.
- Nurture signature events: identify funding options to support events, create a signature festival concept and adopt criteria to prioritize event investments that generate overnight visitation.
- Enhance Willamette River access: implement river-access elements of park master plans, encourage non-motorized river services (rentals, guides), and explore adding Wilsonville stops to regional tour boats.
- Support town-center activation and access: coordinate tourism goals with the town center master plan, incentivize expanded dining (food carts, food halls, themed concepts), improve wayfinding and access, and conduct a destination accessibility audit to evaluate mobility and connectivity across the city.
- Expand lodging mix: analyze current lodging supply and markets, evaluate short-term rental opportunities with appropriate licensing, and pursue family-oriented entertainment lodging concepts as long-term recruitment targets.
Council feedback and next steps
Council members praised the report’s breadth but pressed consultants on implementation realism. Council President Mary Berry suggested strengthening the strategy’s vision language to explicitly call out “recreation” because of Wilsonville’s park system. Other councilors asked the consultants to stress-test assumptions tied to town-center build-out and to identify interim “easy wins” if the town-center vision is delayed.
Monberg told the council that Whereabouts will return once more to the tourism promotion committee for a formal recommendation before a version comes back to council. The city budget has $50,000 budgeted for this fiscal year and $50,000 in the prior year for the consultant work; Monberg said those TLT funds covered the cost and that the committee will include any proposed annual expenditures in its one-year implementation and five-year action plan for council approval.
No formal council action was taken at the work session. Staff said the tourism promotion committee (seven community members with Council President Berry as ex officio) will develop an implementation plan after council adoption and identify phase 1 priorities for the coming year.
Ending: The council asked staff to return with the committee’s recommendation; any funding proposals or ordinance changes would come back through the council for review and approval.
