To many, the Mt. Bachelor ski area kick-started tourism in Central Oregon when it was built in the 1950s.
Like the mountain itself, the winter destination still towers over the region’s visitor industry, which leans heavily into outdoor recreation.
“Getting Mt. Bachelor ski area was always a big deal for little Bend,” said Mike Hollern, board chairman for Brooks Resources, a development firm. “Our early ad campaigns were focused on skiing. We wanted to bring people here to experience Central Oregon’s recreation, weather and possibly move here and relocate their businesses here. Over the years, tourism was the spark in creating economic growth.”
And that’s what developers like Hollern and Bill Smith were successful in creating: a community known today for its summertime water recreation, walking and hiking paths, amphitheater and shopping. All those activities occur near the towering smoke stacks, remnants of Bend’s past, when the river was not navigable and timber was king.
To find the start of Bend’s attempt to encourage tourism, the calendar needs to roll back to the 1920s with water pageants along what has become an iconic emblem of Bend, the Deschutes River. The pageants were modeled after the Pendleton Round-Up. Historical photos show parade floats from the 1920s and 1930s promoting Bend as the “Gateway of the Cascades.”
“The Water Pageant, modeled after the Pendleton Round-Up, was extremely popular,” said Kelly Cannon-Miller, Deschutes Historical Society executive director. “It ended in 1966 because residents were tired of spending weeks cleaning up after the tourists. “
Bend is not so much a tourist town as a lifestyle town. Yet, tourism is among one of the largest industries in Central Oregon, employing about 10,650 people and generating a total economic impact of $1.3 billion annually, according to the Visit Central Oregon Economic Impact Report for 2023. For comparison, Portland makes up 29% of all travel jobs in the state and generated $5.3 billion in economic impact in 2023, according to a Travel Oregon report.
But with boons come busts. The industry is a victim of its own success, contributing to an affordable housing shortage, crowds and contributing to a large class of the region’s lowest paid workers.
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ToggleResorts and ranches
From Sisters to Sunriver, the tourists who pour through the towns build a powerful relationship with the community and businesses, said Kyle Cummings, Black Butte Ranch CEO. In 2023, the 1,800-acre ranch had 44,959 visitors who came to rent a house, play golf, shop or visit the spa, Cummings said. Like Sunriver, which celebrated its 52nd anniversary this year, Black Butte Ranch has been around since the 1970s.
“From Memorial Day to Labor Day we are busy,” Cummings said. “I see people from the ranch in the grocery stores, the shops and on the golf courses. It’s a strong partnership between the ranch and the town. That was the plan with the folks who built this place.”
Even Oprah has found Central Oregon. Recently, the lodge at Juniper Preserve in Bend received a nod from the celebrity’s magazine for the spa treatments and location, said Pilar Guzman, Oprah Daily editorial director.
“The property is a microcosm of place and serves as a jumping off point for nature’s inexhaustible playground,” Guzman said. “Bend seems to have it all: hiking, trails, lakes for kayaking and canoeing, a strong food scene and microbreweries.”
The growth of tourism
In 2001, the leisure and hospitality industry employed 8,790 people, according to employment data provided by the Oregon Employment Department. In 2023, the industry employed 16,270 people in Central Oregon, said Nicole Ramos, Oregon Employment Department regional economist. That’s an 85.3% rate of growth, she said. Overall leisure and hospitality account for 15% of all jobs in Central Oregon, that’s larger than the 10% average nationwide.
No other industry in Central Oregon can compete with that kind of growth, Ramos said.
“This sector is one of the lowest-paid industries, even though it’s the largest segment of the regional economy,” said Ramos.
Currently, tourism represents about 15.5% of all total employment in the region. In 10 years, it’s projected to grow to 18%, Ramos said.
Pitfalls of tourism success
Sunriver Resort, which recently added more vacation homes and indoor and outdoor recreation facilities to its mix as a way to keep current, said there are always positive and negative impacts from an industry.
Parking, affordable housing and traffic are the common complaints from residents. Central Oregon is a victim of its success, said Tom O’Shea, Sunriver Resort managing director. But the negative impacts are not solely caused by tourism, rather it’s from growth, O’Shea said.
“People who come to visit our area, a lot of people decide that they want to live here,” O’Shea said. “The region won’t ever become an undesirable place to live or visit. The key is how you prepare for them and plan. The growth will continue.”
The community is still about 6,000 homes short of what it needs to accommodate all the workers, said Katy Brooks, Bend Chamber of Commerce CEO. But a multiyear effort and a $5 million U.S. Housing and Urban Development grant to develop midmarket housing, will address those needs, Brooks said.
“There are a lot of efforts underway, but it will be some time before we see any notable improvements,” Brooks said. “This is a serious issue and will remain so for several years.”
A recent survey of employers in Bend and Redmond indicated that 91% of those surveyed were affected by the high cost of living and housing, Brooks said.
The steady rise of tourism
There was a time when Bend didn’t have a plethora of hotel accommodations. People came to Bend to camp, fish or hunt, said Damon Runberg, Business Oregon economist. The river wasn’t open for floating or recreation.
As outdoor activities increased, so did Bend’s attraction, Runberg said. For example when mountain biking became popular in the 1990s, so did Bend.
“Mountain biking has been a large draw, especially during the shoulder seasons (non summer or winter months),” said Runberg. “There was a moment when the regional economy shifted from timber to tourism, but it was a slow decline in one and a slow increase in the other.”
Runberg argues that tourism’s share of the overall economic pie is about the same as it’s been, growing at a rate of 3% from the year 2000 to today. Hotel occupancy in July 2023 was 79%, according to data provided by Visit Bend. The average daily room rate in the same period was $219 a night.
Each room night generates a transient accommodation tax that supports fire, emergency services and marketing efforts. In 2023, the city of Bend earned $14.7 million in transient room taxes, compared to $6.3 million earned in 2015, the earliest year data are available.
“Tourism helped plant a seed,” said Runberg. “It showed tourists the amazing quality of life in Central Oregon. Many of those tourists moved here and became residents. They brought with them new skills, entrepreneurship and in some cases, even their own businesses.”
Preservation and sustainability
Amenity-rich communities like Bend, face challenges of being over-loved, said Jeff Knapp, Visit Bend CEO.
Said Runberg, “The community isn’t afraid of tourism, which as I said helped lead towards a more diverse economy by recruiting more skilled workers to the region. Most (not all) have been welcoming to these new residents helping to create a deep sense of community even for those who are relatively new here.”
A business like Wanderlust Tours and the Visit Bend Sustainability Fund also work to ensure that the natural beauty of Central Oregon is preserved through education.
“We leverage the financial resources that visitors leave in our community to be strategically reinvested in improving the quality of life for Bend residents,” Knapp said. “Visit Bend is committed to putting the community first and working with local and regional leadership.”
When Dave Nissen, the former owner of Wanderlust Tours, started in 1993, the tourism landscape was about experiences at the risk of nature. Today it’s more about protection rather than consumption. From the start, the tour company encouraged sustainability and educated the public about the cultural and natural history of the area.
“We believed that education builds awareness, awareness builds appreciation and appreciation builds protection for the Earth’s gifts to us humans,” Nissen said. “This was a new concept in the ‘90s that we brought to Bend.”
And the visitors appear to agree. During her 13 years guiding guests through the natural areas of Central Oregon, Courtney Braun, now co-owner of the tour company, has seen visitor stewardship increase.
“I have seen intentional support of local businesses increase,” Braun said. “I have seen corporations that host their conferences in Central Oregon support our community by intentionally leaving a portion of their profits behind.
“The mindset of more is better is shifting as we dive deeper into the who is coming. We are so lucky to live here.”
Once a year visitors pay for the chance to volunteer and perform cave cleanups and trail maintenance.
“The benefits and changes tourism has brought to Bend are so deep and rich,” Nissen said. “These benefits will be seen well into the future. The industry has provided so much to so many, and it’s incumbent on every individual in Central Oregon to not only keep the industry vibrant but most importantly maintain what Mother Nature has provided to us as sacred.”
Protecting Mother Nature and promoting skiing and mountain activities year round is a delicate dance that Mt. Bachelor ski area has been actively engaged in, said Lauren Burke, Mt. Bachelor LLC director of marketing and communications.
Winter months, tourism is heavily dependent upon snow. The more snow the higher the skier visits, particularly from core markets, like Central Oregon, Portland, Seattle and the Bay Area, Burke said.
“The majority of skier visits come from Bend and Central Oregon,” Burke said. “You’ll see us lean heavily into conditions reports and content around snowfall during periods of new snow as we know that is what drives our skiers and riders to book a trip.
“Mt. Bachelor is uniquely positioned with consistent snowfall and one of the longest ski seasons in the country.”
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