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San Juan Islands Visitors Bureau asks council for earlier LTAC decisions and multi-year funding
Summary
The San Juan Islands Visitors Bureau updated the council on 2024 tourism metrics, stewardship work and marketing campaigns, and asked the county to move lodging-tax funding decisions earlier and to consider returning to multi-year funding formulas for its contract so the Bureau can plan more effectively.
The San Juan Islands Visitors Bureau delivered its semiannual update on Oct. 6, reporting recent marketing reach, stewardship work and two requests for the county’s 2026 planning cycle.
Executive Director Deborah Hoskinson said the bureau’s 2024 data shows nearly 1,000,000 visitors and roughly $313 million in visitor spending across lodging, food and related categories. The bureau highlighted website traffic (more than 1.2 million sessions in 2024; 423,000 sessions July–Sept.) and digital and earned-media reach, and described stewardship and education initiatives including a bilingual visitor stewardship toolkit and a pledge campaign promoted on social media.
Hoskinson outlined two formal requests to the council: (1) move the Lodging Tax Advisory Committee (LTAC) and LTAC-related county funding decisions earlier in the year so recipients know available funds before budget season, and (2) return to multi‑year agreements or a DMMO (destination marketing/management organization) funding formula tied to a percentage of prior-year lodging tax collections to provide predictability for planning. The bureau also asked the council to consider restoring a multi-year contract approach described in the LTAC master plan.
Bureau staff described a stewardship video and digital toolkit (English and Spanish) created with a Washington State tourism grant, ongoing press- and FAM‑trip work that produced regional and national coverage in travel outlets, and a DataFi/Tourism Economics dashboard that links ad impressions to website visits and tracked performance by campaign.
Council members thanked the bureau, asked questions about metrics and return on investment, and asked staff to coordinate further with county budget staff. Hoskinson said the bureau would follow up with county staff on LTAC timing and a potential multi-year arrangement.
Provenance: Bureau presentation and council Q&A occurred Oct. 6.
