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Experience Olympia & Beyond details tourism marketing, budget and visitor profile to Lacey council
Summary
Experience Olympia & Beyond told the Lacey City Council it operates on a $1.4 million budget, promotes Thurston County to drive “heads in beds,” and reported 2024 visitation and spending data showing tourism supports jobs and local tax revenue.
Experience Olympia & Beyond, the destination marketing organization for Thurston County, briefed the Lacey City Council on its organizational status, marketing strategy and visitor profile on Oct. 14.
The presentation, led by Kelly Campbell, vice president of finance and administration, and Emily Brooks, director of marketing and community engagement, said the organization’s current budget is $1,400,000 and the staff is four people; Campbell told council the group has a vacant position and an open leadership search that will include an interim CEO and a six-to-nine month transition once an interim is selected.
“The visitor economy is essential,” Brooks said, summarizing 2024 countywide figures. “In 2024, overall in Thurston County, we welcomed over 3,000,000 visitors…that level of spending sustained 4,076 jobs and generated over $56,000,000 in state and local taxes in 2024.”
Brooks described a visitor profile used to tailor marketing: typical party size (about 2.7 people), average length of stay (just over 2.5 days), and primary drive-market origins (Seattle, Vancouver, Portland, Everett and Bothell). She said food and beverage, retail and recreation accounted for the largest shares of visitor spending—30.4 percent, about 20.7 percent and 17.4 percent respectively—and that “overnight tourism has a huge impact on our community.”
Campbell and Brooks reviewed marketing channels the organization uses: digital programmatic advertising targeted to markets more than 50 miles away, search engine optimization for experienceolympiaandbeyond.com and a monthly visitor newsletter (about 15,000 subscribers). Brooks told council the organization measures return on ad spend and that “for every $1 we spend, we see nearly $239 in return visitor spending in Thurston County.” She also described earned media placements, a printed visitor guide with a 60,000 print distribution, and partnerships such as an October Port of Seattle airport ad.
Council members asked about distribution of the guide, newsletter subscriber counts and the ability of the marketing to drive hotel stays and retail spending in Lacey. Campbell said the organization shares board meeting highlights with municipal partners and invited mayoral and administrative representatives to a board meeting Oct. 21 for input on the interim CEO selection process.
The presentation was framed as informational; no council action or vote was recorded. The organization’s materials and the council briefing emphasized tourism’s fiscal contributions and the bureau’s stated goal of increasing overnight stays and visitor spending in Lacey and across Thurston County.
