PORT ANGELES — A combination of good weather, a rebounding economy, collaborative marketing and the lure of Olympic National Park resulted in a “banner year” for tourism on the North Olympic Peninsula, officials said.
Lodging tax collections Peninsula-wide were up more than 5.4 percent from 2013 as reported by the state Department of Revenue through the end of October.
Hotel, motels and lodges in Clallam and Jefferson counties, including the four incorporated cities, collected a combined $1.64 million in the 4 percent “heads in beds” room tax compared with $1.55 million for the same time period last year.
“All in all, I think everyone is feeling like this is just a record year,” said Marsha Massey, interim executive director of the Olympic Peninsula Visitor Bureau.
“There are lots of markers of that.”
Port Angeles projects to end the year with $518,747 in room tax collections, a 6 percent increase from a pace-setting 2013.
“We had a very good, concentrated effort for marketing this year,” said Russ Veenema, Port Angeles Regional Chamber of Commerce executive director.
“The [Olympic Peninsula] Tourism Commission, the chamber, the Coho ferry have all worked very, very well together. The events continue to increase their business.”
Veenema added: “The Olympic Peninsula in general had a record year.”
As reported through October, unincorporated Clallam County saw a 13.1 percent spike in room tax collections from 2013.
“And 2013 was already a good year for a lot of the area,” Massey said.
“It’s been a great year weather-wise.”
The 13-member tourism commission has been aggressively marketing the area.
“It doesn’t happen overnight,” Massey said.
“I think it’s cumulative. I think the word is out.”
Sequim saw a 5.4 percent increase in lodging tax collections, and Forks was up 1.4 percent from 2013, with 32,637 signing the guest book at the Forks visitor center through November.
“We had a great year,” Forks Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Lissy Andros said.
“The weather was amazing. We have our Twilight fans coming and returning. We’ve got fans of Mick Dodge. We have people from all over the world.”
The Olympic Peninsula Visitor Bureau is in charge of marketing unincorporated Clallam County. It is also the destination marketing organization, or DMO, for the entire Peninsula.
As reported through October, Clallam County and its three cities had a combined $1.1 million in lodging tax collections, a 7.6 percent rise from last year.
Jefferson County including Port Townsend at last report had collected $538,130 in room tax, a 1.2 percent increase from 2013, and the numbers are likely better than that.
Port Townsend’s lodging tax numbers are skewed by reporting delays associated with Fort Worden’s transfer from the State Park system to a public development authority.
“They’re still going through a lot of the process, correcting a number of entries and errors and things,” Port Townsend City Manager David Timmons said.
“Overall, our net activity, the reports that everybody is giving us, showed a pretty strong year. But unfortunately, our numbers are not collaborating on that, and that’s what we’re trying to track down.”
The state Department of Revenue showed a 2.8 percent decrease in Port Townsend’s lodging tax collections despite anecdotal evidence to the contrary.
“By all accounts from our local businesses, they have said that it was an excellent year, one of the best,” said Christina Pivarnik, marketing director for the city of Port Townsend.
Some businesses reported 25 percent to 30 percent increases over last year, Pivarnik said.
“Mother Nature is our best tourism partner,” she added.
“I think the economy is rebounding, which is great. People are out traveling. Here in Port Townsend, we always have fantastic festivals and events.”
Port Townsend draws visitors who come for the natural beauty of the area — boaters, kayakers and bicyclists who ride the Olympic Discovery Trail, which begins in Port Townsend.
Pivarnik and others in the tourism industry say Olympic National Park remains the area’s biggest draw.
“The Olympic National Park is kind of the heart and soul of the Olympic Peninsula,” Pivarnik said.
According to statistics provided by Veenema, visitation to the park’s Lake Crescent District is up nearly 5 percent this year with 1.1 million trips.
The Hurricane Ridge district is up 38 percent with 360,000 visits, and the Elwha River district is up 188 percent with 455,000 visits, Veenema said.
“There’s a lot of fascination with the recovery of the Elwha,” Veenema said, referring to the $325 million dam removal and restoration of the Elwha River valley.
Said Massey: “International visitors in particular are really drawn to the natural beauty of the park.”
“We’re seeing a lot more press in international publications,” Massey added.
“It’s anecdotal, but I guess the word is out on this destination, and that’s a good thing.”
The Forks visitor center has recently drawn tourists from as far away as Germany, Australia, the Netherlands, South Africa and Asia.
“We have a very international crowd that comes through,” Andros said.
“We had some young ladies who came from China. They were so thrilled. They took 200 pictures inside the visitor’s center with the cutouts.”
Port Angeles, too, is seeing a higher percentage of international visitors.
About 10 percent of those who sign the guest book at the Port Angeles visitor center are European, and a full 1 percent of those who visit the chamber’s website are from Moscow, Veenema said.
Back in Forks, Andros said the Twilight phenomenon is still very much alive.
Stephenie Meyer centered her popular novels, which became hit movies, on the West End.
“We’re very excited about next year for the 10-year anniversary [of the first book],” Andros said.
Last month, two fans of Mick Dodge stopped by the visitor center in Forks without knowing that the reality TV star was in Andros’ office.
“They were thrilled to meet him in person, and the three of them chatted for about 20 minutes,” Andros said.
Veenema said “back-to-nature” trends in the tourism industry and renewed interest in locally crafted food and beverage bode well for the North Olympic Peninsula.
“The Olympic Peninsula is really poised fairly well for the new trends in tourism growth,” Veenema said.
Visitors will have spent $13 million on rooms this year in Port Angeles alone, which translates to a $46 million economic impact on the area, Veenema said.
Tourism was the fourth-largest industry in Washington in 2013, contributing more than $1.1 billion in state and local tax revenue, Massey said.
That’s the equivalent of about $400 for every household in the state.
“It was a great year,” Pivarnik said, “and we’re looking forward to next year.”
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5072, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
