Walla Walla will spend $90K to develop tourism plan
By Terry Murry on Friday, September 15th, 2023 in Columbia Basin News Featured Stories
WALLA WALLA – The Walla Walla City Council unanimously approved Wednesday night a resolution to spend $90,000 to hire Portland-based consulting firm, Hub Collective, Ltd., to develop a city tourism master plan.
Deputy City Manager Robert Francis told the council both the city and Visit Walla Walla, the tourism promotional agency for the city, have discussed for about a year the need for a tourism master plan. Francis shared with the council that Visit Walla Walla was recently the recipient of a state grant for the rural tourism support program. This program will help develop a regional plan for tourism, but the city needs to also develop a tourism master plan.
A tourism master plan provides an organized and structured framework for tourism development and promotion within the city, which could last 10 years or longer. That includes things like accommodations, transportation, tourist activities, legislation and regulation, and marketing and promotion.
The plan can also help the Walla Walla Lodging Tax Advisory Committee and city council evaluate initiatives and requests related to lodging tax expenditures according to Francis.
