Tackling Bend transportation
Tourism agency seeks a solution for shuttling large groups of visitors
Published: September 05. 2007 4:00AM PST
The opening of a new convention center at The Riverhouse in December solved one problem for Bend’s tourism industry: where to hold large meetings within city limits.
But it raised another: how to get those large groups of travelers from their hotels to the conference center or to downtown or Mt. Bachelor ski area, said Ron Botts, the director of sales at The Riverhouse Hotel & Convention Center in Bend.
He and other board members of the Bend Visitor & Convention Bureau, who discussed the issue at a board meeting Aug. 28, say the existing public transportation system in Bend does not meet the expectations of large groups and conferences.
“Transportation is the number one problem,” Botts said. “We lose business daily.”
The bureau wants to lead the conversation, bringing together different groups that are affected by the tourism trade and possibly use up to $6,000 of its $852,000 annual budget from the city of Bend to research the topic and find solutions.
Large groups are in high demand throughout Central Oregon because they boost the region’s $498 million tourism economy during the typically slow times of year, Botts said at the board meeting.
The visitor bureau’s solutions could include bringing charter buses to the area for larger groups, expanding upon the city’s already existing public transit system or looking at other local options that would be paid for by a pool of hotels, restaurants and other businesses that benefit from tourism.
Large ski groups from states such as Texas, Florida and Illinois could bring thousands of people — and tourist dollars — but the city does not have an adequate way of moving those visitors around, Botts said.
Currently, The Riverhouse and Mt. Bachelor ski area, another large tourism generator, shuttle some of their larger groups around the region.
But both say they could bring in larger groups if other businesses that benefit from tourism paid their share.
“When our buses are in full swing, we’re footing the bill and putting people in hotel rooms or shopping,” Carly Carmichael, the director of sales for Mt. Bachelor, said after the meeting. “It should be a community effort. We haven’t talked in detail about the different options yet.”
Mt. Bachelor has booked eight smaller ski groups with ski and hotel packages for February and March but could do more business if it could fill the groups’ transportation needs, said Carmichael, who served as a visitor bureau board member until June 30.
“We can handle groups of 20 to 30 people, but when a group of 1,200 calls up — they still can’t come here,” Carmichael said.
Ultimately, Bend needs improved transportation if it wants to attract more national and international travelers, said Doug LaPlaca, who became CEO and president of the visitor bureau Aug. 6.
“Increasingly, the expectations among both business and leisure travelers is that premier tourism destinations will provide comprehensive, affordable and easy transportation from all of the lodging properties to all of the attractions that make the destination extraordinary,” LaPlaca wrote in an e-mail.
The visitor bureau has not made any final decisions about how much it would spend on a transportation system or whether it would simply lead the conversation, LaPlaca said.
But Michelle Marquis, the director of sales at Navis, a Web-based software company, said money from the visitor bureau’s marketing budget would be better spent on advertising.
“A transportation system is like a heated pool in the winter,” Marquis said. “People want to know if you’re going to have it, but they’re not actually going to use it.”
Despite efforts to build its national and international scope, Bend is still predominantly a destination for people who live within a driving distance, Marquis said.
“There are a lot of upsides to having a bus system, but as far as drawing more tourists, Bend is still a rubber tire market,” she said.
Jeff McDonald can be reached at 383-0323 or at jmcdonald@bendbulletin.com.
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