Visitor bureau reports rising travel spending, promotes Whiskey Run and new campaigns

Janice Longene, representing the Coos Bay–North Bend–Charleston Visitor and Convention Bureau, briefed the Coos County Board of Commissioners on the bureau’s fiscal outlook, recent marketing campaigns and events on the county’s Oregon’s Adventure Coast brand. "We are funded by our 4 intergovernmental agreement partners, which are the cities of Coos Bay and North Bend, the Coquille Indian Tribe, and Coos County," Longene said during her presentation.

Longene told the board the bureau is projecting just over $1 million in transient lodging tax (TLT) revenue for fiscal 2026 before a 5% rainy-day set-aside. She said the bureau retains a restricted carryover balance and anticipates final fiscal‑25 receipts from Coos Bay and Coos County in October when audits close. "Once that rainy day fund has hit $200,000, we will stop putting money into it unless we have to use it," she said.

The bureau outlined recent marketing successes and initiatives. Longene said countywide visitor spending in 2023 was about $335 million, with roughly $147.3 million of that in the Coos Bay–North Bend–Charleston area; the bureau uses a University of Massachusetts methodology and estimates it influences about 15% of that local spending. She described a return-on-investment calculation the bureau uses and said advertising produced roughly $26 returned for every $1 the bureau spent in the year cited.

Longene highlighted Whiskey Run, a mountain‑biking trail system, saying the bureau has helped promote the trail and expects an October visit by a prominent mountain‑bike influencer and a group ride tied to a book signing. "We are very proud of this trail system," she said, and noted the VCB has spent about $150,000–$200,000 promoting it. She also described campaign work to extend visitor stays ("unpack once, explore all week"), a "cool at the coast" summer push, targeted buckets of activity advertising (for example, separate mountain‑bike and beach‑combing buckets), and a Travel Oregon grant of $42,500 to redesign the bureau website.

Commissioners asked about a planned ODOT road closure south of town that may fall on the Bay Area Fun Festival weekend in September. Longene said some lodging properties are offering incentives to encourage visitors to stay an extra night to avoid detours, and that the bureau is communicating with vendors and attendees. She described the detour route to I‑5 via Crescent City as a lengthy alternate and said the bureau will continue outreach to mitigate the closure’s effects.

The bureau also said it has secured funding to operate holiday‑lights shuttles out of the Charleston Marina and noted continued partnerships with Travel Southern Oregon Coast and local businesses for cross‑promotion. Longene closed by thanking the board for support of the TLT in the bureau’s service area and taking questions from commissioners.

The presentation was informational; no board action was necessary.