BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — As tourism grows, the Sustainable Tourism Lab hopes to maintain a balance between tourism, an integral part our local economy, and the desires of community members.
“The vision, the mission is quite simple,” Oregon State University-Cascades Director of Sustainability Lab Todd Mongomery said Monday. “It is to protect tourist destinations for future communities and tourism alike.”
The lab opened in January of this year with seed capital from Visit Bend. It collaborates with tourism bureaus to research and design sustainable solutions to the address challenges of balancing tourism and quality of life.
The OSU-Cascades Sustainable Tourism Lab was recently gifted $60,000 from Visit McMinnville for expansion.
The funds will enable the Sustainable Tourism Lab support the tourism bureau’s goals to serve visitor needs and advance community quality of life.
A town of 33,000 in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, McMinnville attracts visitors and residents in part because of its historic downtown and surrounding wine region. The community faces similar challenges to destinations across the U.S., where tourism is key to regional economic development, yet needs to be balanced with the needs and desires of community members.
“We are inspired by and grateful for Visit McMinnville’s investment in a long-term vision to become a model for sustainable tourism, where the needs of future generations of visitors and community members are recognized,” said Todd Montgomery, director of the lab and executive-in-residence in the OSU-Cascades hospitality management program.
Jeff Knapp, the CEO of Visit McMinnville, says it’s important to establish balance as tourism grows.
Knapp said, “Consumer spending has increased 150 percent over the last eight years. We see new businesses, new hotels opening up, we see new restaurants. Umm, and we are concerned about ensuring the success of those and the sustainability of this industry.”
Mongomery said, “People are reassessing and reevaluating what it’s like to travel, how they want travel, and how they also want to live in a community that has travelers.”
In light of the spectrum of topics the study will address, Mongomery said sustainable Tourism involves three major factors, which includes the economic side, the environmental side, and a social piece.
Montgomery said, “In particular the areas that we are focusing on is we started with work force development, workforce in the travel industry- went through a lot during Covid.”
The lab is In a partnership with the college of Engineering to develop a food waste app to measure and quantify post consumer food waste.
It’s also analyzing how residents feel about tourism.
Mongomery said, “What are some points, what are some costs, what are some benefits, where they’d like to see things go.”
Back in Spring, the lab launched a survey to gain insight from communities members across the Pacific Northwest, with the goal of finding best tourism practices.
Knapp said, “It’s exciting because that gives us data.”
Montgomery expects this study to take five years, not just to benefit Central Oregon, but to serve as a model for the pacific northwest.
The study also takes into account the workforce issue in Oregon.
Montgomery said, “The funds go primarily to student workers. These are undergraduates that are looking to make a difference and this is not something.”
Work on the project began in October, when a team of students from OSU-Cascades surveyed local residents and captured sentiments regarding tourism and community quality of life. The survey results will help determine next steps around engaging stakeholders and ultimately in determining how to best invest tourism development funding.
Montgomery, who is also the holder of the Robin and Curt Baney Professorship in Hospitality Management, sees the impact of Visit McMinnville’s gift reaching beyond Oregon.
“With so little research available for communities seeking to build sustainable tourism practices, Visit McMinnville’s generosity can help us design best practices that will serve not only other Oregon communities, but communities across the country,” he said.
“Collaborating with the Sustainable Tourism Lab at OSU-Cascades is a critical investment foundational to our work,” said Jeff Knapp, president and CEO of Visit McMinnville. “Visit McMinnville’s mission is to cultivate the visitor economy to help steward quality of life for McMinnville. This valuable effort will guide sustainable growth in McMinnville and ensure the community’s voice is heard along the way.”
“I am grateful to Visit McMinnville for their generous commitment to this project,” said Shawn L. Scoville, president and CEO of the OSU Foundation, which secured the gift. “Their investment is an example of how philanthropy can drive impact for the greater good, providing enriching opportunities for faculty experts and students to contribute to a more sustainable and prosperous future for Oregonians.
