UPDATED — 9:00 a.m. Nov. 9, 2009
After two weeks in Seattle, Phra Charoen and Phiriya Phahondon spent the last few days of their vacation exploring the Snoqualmie Valley before returning home to Thailand.
The two international visitors are exactly the type of consumers that many Snoqualmie Valley cities and businesses want to target—travelers with disposable income who come for the twinkling city lights of Seattle but stay for the adventures and beauty to be had in eastern King County.
Several dozen people—from city planners to bed and breakfast owners—came together Oct. 23 on Snoqualmie Ridge to discuss how to get consumers like Charoen and Phahohdon to stop and spend more money outside Seattle.
The meeting—the third annual Snoqualmie Valley Economic Development Conference—concluded with the launch www.discoveroutsideseattle.com, a new Web site aimed at potential visitors to the Valley.
The sleek new Web site showcases all the unique sights of the area and provides a directory of restaurants and attractions. It was an effort backed by Outside Seattle, a new nonprofit with representatives from cities and businesses in the Valley who wanted to collaborate instead of compete when it came to advertising and attracting tourists.
Instead of groups marketing their areas separately, the Web site presents the Eastside and cities like Issaquah, North Bend and Carnation, as an overall destination with many different outdoor and cultural attractions.
“There has been no organized voice to represent the Eastside,” said Jim Pearman, who helped spearhead the creation of the Web site, which cost over $100,000 to design and develop. “Now, we have a great story to tell people why they should come over here.”
Cooperation was the main theme of the conference, which the Snoqualmie Valley Chamber of Commerce hosted.
Businesses have to come together and cross-advertise to get visitor numbers up in the down economy, said Shelly Tomberg, vice president of sales and marketing for Columbia Hospitality, during her presentation. “Looking beyond your little self is so important now,” she said.
Tomberg explained that while people may come to the area for a specific reason—the Falls, for example—they will likely end up spending money at restaurants and stores while they are here, so using advertising dollars to promote common attractions and even other businesses is worthwhile in the end. She also said Internet marketing, including using social media like Facebook and Twitter, is a necessity because they help create a personal relationship between clients and businesses.
Representatives from North Bend and Snoqualmie governments and businesses attended the conference.
As spending for tourism has dropped across the board, North Bend businesses are feeling the crunch, said Gina Estep, the city’s community and economic development director.
“Small businesses in North Bend are looking for an opportunity to partner with area attractions at a greater level,” she said. “They are always looking for support with advertising and marketing.”
Estep said she hopes the Web site will drive visitors to North Bend and that businesses will start feeling the positive effects from increased traffic. She served on an advisory board for the Web site’s creation.
Before the Web site’s launch, Puget Sound Energy presented an update on their Snoqualmie Falls Park project, which is replacing a picnic area with an open plaza and adding another viewpoint where visitors can take in the Falls. Construction on the $1 million project began right after Labor Day and should be completed by the end of November, said Tony Fuchs, regional scientist for PSE.
“It’s a sight that gets two million people coming each year, but only little improvements have been made to it over the years,” he said. In the future, PSE, which owns the park and two power plants on the river near the waterfall, plans to add lookout points a the base of the Falls as well, he added.
For Charoen, Snoqualmie Valley was a great find, even with the construction at the park.
“This area was my favorite part of the trip,” he said after snapping several photos of Snoqualmie Falls from the park’s lookout point. “I like the natural beauty.”
Tara Ballenger: 392-6434, ext. 248 or [email protected].
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