Experience Olympia & Beyond presents tourism data, Tumwater marketing and upcoming events to council

Kelly Campbell, vice president of finance and administration, and Emily Brooks, director of community engagement and marketing for Experience Olympia & Beyond, presented an organizational update to the Tumwater City Council on Oct. 21.

Campbell said the organization’s current budget is $1,400,000 and that the staff totals four people with a vacant leadership position the group hopes to fill by year‑end. She described an ongoing CEO search and said the organization anticipates a six‑ to nine‑month transition once an interim is selected.

Brooks presented tourism data for Thurston County and Tumwater. She said Thurston County received more than 3,000,000 visitors in 2024, with total visitor spending of $572,000,000 that supported 4,076 jobs and generated about $56,000,000 in state and local tax revenue, according to the figures she cited. Brooks said food and beverage accounted for 30.4% of visitor spending, followed by retail, recreation and lodging. She said 41.2% of visitors stayed overnight but made 70.7% of total spending, underscoring the county’s focus on attracting overnight visitors.

Brooks gave a Tumwater snapshot from the organization’s visitor research: group size averages about 2.5 people and stays just under 2.5 days; primary origin markets include Vancouver, Portland, Seattle and Longview. She described Experience Olympia & Beyond’s digital programmatic advertising approach and said, at the county level, the organization measures about $239 in visitor spending for every dollar spent on that advertising.

Brooks said Experience Olympia & Beyond produces a printed Tumwater visitor guide (60,000 print distribution) and maintains the Tumwater content on experienceTumwater.com. She also cited partnership work on a George Bush history article and said the American Junior Golf Association will hold an event at Tumwater Valley Golf Club in the 2026–28 period, and that the organization will continue supporting WIAA golf state championships and other youth and adult sporting events.

Council members asked a few operational questions, including whether QR codes could be used to provide site‑specific information at venues; Brooks said that was not currently in place. The presentation required no council action.

Ending: Experience Olympia & Beyond framed tourism as a local economic driver and described digital advertising, print guides and partnerships used to attract overnight visitors to Tumwater and Thurston County.