Monday, November 05, 2007
Investing in Tourism
This morning begins two days of meetings by a citizens’ advisory group, the lodging tax advisory board, which meets once a year. Once again, you could argue I could be doing other things during a campaign, but I’m here this morning because this group’s purpose is extremely important to both Lakewood’s present and future.
I’ve attended these meetings for several years because economic development is one of my interests. And tourism and the culture economy are key parts of any good city’s economic development strategy. Tourists spend money that help build Lakewood businesses and services. And to be a little blunt about it, tourists spend their money and leave ... so they don’t demand as many city services as other groups. In a city with a lot of demands and needs, it helps to have a form of economic development that does not demand a lot of services.
And tourists support things that local people can also enjoy: restaurants, museums, theaters, and so forth. I could give you statistics on how people who visit a community for its historical sites, for example, spend more money in restaurants, etc…, than the average visitor. But you get the idea.
The lodging tax board provides advice to the City Council on how to spend one specific kind of tax: the tax that people pay when they stay at hotels in Lakewood. That would include all forms of hotels, everything from Thornewood Castle to the new La Quinta to the older motels along Pacific Highway.
The Legislature was very clear that anyone who collects this tax MUST spend the proceeds on more tourism and services for tourists. You can’t spend this money on police or roads. So that means you can use this tax for very strategic purposes.
It’s this tax that the citizens group and then the council agreed should help providing funding so the city has guaranteed rooms at the new Clover Park Technical Center conference facility.
This morning, the group begins two days of hearing from other nonprofit groups that want cash. The groups include all the heavy hitters of Lakewood tourism, including the Lakewood Chamber of Commerce, the Lakewood Playhouse, Lakewold Gardens, the Lakewood Historical Society, and others.
The Lakewood Chamber of Commerce would use funding for, among other things, operating its visitor center and marketing the new conference facility.
The Lakewood Historical Society wants to continue planning for a permanent location, and more immediately create a loop tour where tourists would begin with historic sites in DuPont, continue through Steilacoom, and then arrive at the Lakewood museums, Fort Steilacoom Museum and the Lakewood Historical Society Museum. I’ve been arguing for such a tour for a long time and a couple of other groups that could have worked on this have stalled along the way. So it’s exciting to see the historical society pick up the challenge.
Lakewold Gardens would continue its successful program which has put brochures about Lakewood everywhere from Washington ferries to Portland hotels and put up billboards in Snohomish County. Lakewold also wants help paying for a sign that DOT would put up on Interstate 5 that would advertise the Gardens from the road. The Lakewood Playhouse and the Historical Society are also trying to get signage on I-5… so it’s good to hear this morning that more of our attractions may be highlighted in this high-profile fashion.
And speaking of that, the city of Lakewood’s own all-volunteer Arts Commission, which is in its first year of operation, is submitting a request to build a web site that would highlight the many unknown arts and artistic activities. The idea is to raise the profile of Lakewood as an arts and cultural destination, which would naturally raise the tide for all cultural groups.
Meanwhile, the city of Lakewood itself has applied for two grants through the parks department. One grant would help pay for a study to calculate if it makes sense to convert one or more barns in Fort Steilacoom Park into a Farmer’s Market, or some other public use. And another grant would help pay for the city’s annual festival, SummerFEST.
It’s going to be tough for this group to decide what they want to spend money on. The lodging tax has about $248,000 available for this year, but the requests total $417,000. I haven't even listed all the requests. I’ll let you know what the group recommends, and what the council comes up with.
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I’ve attended these meetings for several years because economic development is one of my interests. And tourism and the culture economy are key parts of any good city’s economic development strategy. Tourists spend money that help build Lakewood businesses and services. And to be a little blunt about it, tourists spend their money and leave ... so they don’t demand as many city services as other groups. In a city with a lot of demands and needs, it helps to have a form of economic development that does not demand a lot of services.
And tourists support things that local people can also enjoy: restaurants, museums, theaters, and so forth. I could give you statistics on how people who visit a community for its historical sites, for example, spend more money in restaurants, etc…, than the average visitor. But you get the idea.
The lodging tax board provides advice to the City Council on how to spend one specific kind of tax: the tax that people pay when they stay at hotels in Lakewood. That would include all forms of hotels, everything from Thornewood Castle to the new La Quinta to the older motels along Pacific Highway.
The Legislature was very clear that anyone who collects this tax MUST spend the proceeds on more tourism and services for tourists. You can’t spend this money on police or roads. So that means you can use this tax for very strategic purposes.
It’s this tax that the citizens group and then the council agreed should help providing funding so the city has guaranteed rooms at the new Clover Park Technical Center conference facility.
This morning, the group begins two days of hearing from other nonprofit groups that want cash. The groups include all the heavy hitters of Lakewood tourism, including the Lakewood Chamber of Commerce, the Lakewood Playhouse, Lakewold Gardens, the Lakewood Historical Society, and others.
The Lakewood Chamber of Commerce would use funding for, among other things, operating its visitor center and marketing the new conference facility.
The Lakewood Historical Society wants to continue planning for a permanent location, and more immediately create a loop tour where tourists would begin with historic sites in DuPont, continue through Steilacoom, and then arrive at the Lakewood museums, Fort Steilacoom Museum and the Lakewood Historical Society Museum. I’ve been arguing for such a tour for a long time and a couple of other groups that could have worked on this have stalled along the way. So it’s exciting to see the historical society pick up the challenge.
Lakewold Gardens would continue its successful program which has put brochures about Lakewood everywhere from Washington ferries to Portland hotels and put up billboards in Snohomish County. Lakewold also wants help paying for a sign that DOT would put up on Interstate 5 that would advertise the Gardens from the road. The Lakewood Playhouse and the Historical Society are also trying to get signage on I-5… so it’s good to hear this morning that more of our attractions may be highlighted in this high-profile fashion.
And speaking of that, the city of Lakewood’s own all-volunteer Arts Commission, which is in its first year of operation, is submitting a request to build a web site that would highlight the many unknown arts and artistic activities. The idea is to raise the profile of Lakewood as an arts and cultural destination, which would naturally raise the tide for all cultural groups.
Meanwhile, the city of Lakewood itself has applied for two grants through the parks department. One grant would help pay for a study to calculate if it makes sense to convert one or more barns in Fort Steilacoom Park into a Farmer’s Market, or some other public use. And another grant would help pay for the city’s annual festival, SummerFEST.
It’s going to be tough for this group to decide what they want to spend money on. The lodging tax has about $248,000 available for this year, but the requests total $417,000. I haven't even listed all the requests. I’ll let you know what the group recommends, and what the council comes up with.
