Tourism raises revenue in Central Oregon

Tourism in Central Oregon is increasing, and visitors are helping build the city of Bend’s revenue.

A new study from Travel Oregon reports that visitors who stay in private homes instead of commercial lodging comprise the largest share of overnight visitor volume. However, those who stay in commerical lodging have a greater economic impact.

The report shows that hotel and motel visitor spending makes up almost 68.2 percent of the total, compared to 18.1 percent from private home visitors.

“When visitors come to Bend and spend money on a hotel, nearly 70 percent of the tax that is collected from that hotel room goes right into the city’s general services fund,” city Economic Director Carolyn Eagan said Wednesday. “It pays for police, its pays for fire and it pays for streets. I believe with the way things have been set up in Bend, we really are asking visitors to pay for their impact on our systems.”

Eagan said tourism season has become year-round in Central Oregon, and even with the increase in private lodging options, there’s stil been an increase in the number of hotels being built.

Eagan said she believes the revenue that tourists bring to the region outweighs the costs they bring.