9A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2018
Oregon: Foreign travelers tend to stay longer, spend differently
Continued from Page 1A
“Part of the big draw for
international visitors is who we
are. They hear about the beauty
of this place, the amazing culi-
nary scene, our fresh sea-
food, what’s being done with
our wine and craft beer indus-
tries,” said Todd Davidson, the
CEO of Travel Oregon, the state
agency that promotes tourism.
“What we’re doing in Ore-
gon is working. Yes, we’ve
been more aggressive in the
international market than ever
before, but we couldn’t do it
without all of our Oregon busi-
nesses and partners.”
Shifting demographics
There are many factors that
contribute to the boom of for-
eign visitors.
Over the past few years, the
number of international flights
into Portland has opened the
door to countries that other-
wise would have never had
a convenient way to visit the
Pacific Northwest. Partnerships
with national marketing orga-
nizations like Brand USA have
allowed the state to “penetrate
markets they wouldn’t have
even dreamed of a decade ago,”
Davidson said.
But one of the biggest
changes to the Oregon tourism
landscape has been a significant
shift in the number of visitors
from Asian countries. Canada
has historically accounted for
about half of all international
tourists and contributes to about
one quarter of all international
spending.
In 2017, travelers from coun-
tries like China, South Korea
and Japan comprised a quarter
of all of Oregon’s international
visitors, but brought in more
than $241 million in travel reve-
nue — more than 43 percent of
all international spending.
Part of this is due to geogra-
phy. A robust Asian-Canadian
population in Vancouver, Brit-
ish Columbia, acts as a cultural
gateway to the Pacific North-
west. But Davidson said the
uptick is also due in large part
to recent changes in what types
of travel visas Chinese citizens
can get to come to the United
Photos by Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
ABOVE: Matthew Gates and his son, Owen, of Tacoma, Washington, take in one of the many tourist attractions in Seaside. BELOW: Visitors to Seaside
take in the sights.
States. Before 2014, Chinese
travelers could only apply for a
one-year travel visa. Since the
10-year visa was approved, vis-
itors from China have grown 26
percent, from about 53,000 vis-
itors to 68,000 in three years,
and have spent 31 percent more
in tourism-related dollars.
The longer visa has encour-
aged more travel to the Pacific
Northwest, in particular, David-
son said.
“We know (Oregon) is not
necessarily the first destination
that comes to mind when peo-
ple want to come to the U.S.
They are going for other desti-
nations, like California or Flor-
ida, they’ve seen in TV or mov-
ies,” Davidson said. “It’s on the
second or third trip to the U.S.
we see people seeking out the
Pacific Northwest, and on a
one-year visa, how many times
are you going to go to the U.S.
in one year?”
Changes ahead
Part of the reason visitors
from countries like China spend
more in the local economy is
because foreign travelers tend
to stay longer and spend differ-
ently than domestic or Cana-
dian travelers.
“It’s important to invest on
that return,” Davidson said.
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Changes are on the horizon
for the local tourism scene as
communities attempt to accom-
modate the booming Asian mar-
ket. This year, Travel Oregon
has set up a global impact team
— consultants who give advice
to communities on how to bet-
ter serve Chinese guests, from
more signs and hotel informa-
tion in their native language to
providing more food options.
“Our level of authentic-
ity should never change. We’re
Oregon, it’s who we are,”
Davidson said. “But are there
things we can do to make them
feel more welcome? Yes, of
course.”
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