Project Overview

Tillamook County is located within Northwest Oregon, with a population of 25,250 (as of the 2016 census). The main industries within the county are Timber, Tourism, Agriculture and Fishing.

Since 2014, Tillamook county has been awarded $2 million toward tourism-related facilities projects, primarily through three community grant solicitations. In January 2015, Tillamook County’s Tourism Advisory Committee developed four tourism priorities to drive both facilities and promotions. These priorities are:

• Develop the tourism industry in ways that are socially, culturally and ecologically responsible, particularly in support of nature-based activities and complementary interests, which differentiate this region for visitors.
• Prioritise growth in tourism that improves economic conditions in the shoulder and off-seasons and supports the economic stability of the workforce.
• Improve communities' abilities to better accommodate tourists and the visitor experience with new, enhanced or better utilisation of tourism related facilities for increased year round use.
• Inspire growth in new and traditional industries to support the long term priorities of county tourism.

The Tourism Investment Strategic Action Plan project will build upon past studies, provide a wide and deep community engagement process and provide recommendations to include within the Tourism Investment Vision and Strategic Action Plan, which will guide spending and project implementation. The project will explore:

• What should Tillamook County tourism become?
• How should TLT funds be used to support this vision?
• How will stakeholder preferences fit into this vision?
• How does Tillamook County ensure that the Vision and Action Plan will incorporate the priorities and values for all county stakeholders served?
• How should funds be invested and leveraged?