Today a milestone in our regional tourism efforts has been realized with the finalization and implementation of the North Marion County Tourism Collaborative strategic plan.
The Woodburn Area Chamber of Commerce has a long history of supporting tourism in our area. Through our work on the local tourism committee we were part of an effort to expand and include a larger scope of municipalities, Chambers of Commerce, tourist attractions, lodging, and retail stakeholders. The area we serve includes Donald, Aurora, St Paul, Hubbard, Woodburn, Gervais, Mt Angel, Scotts Mills and Silverton. The ability to work as a group has made a huge difference in the effectiveness of our combined efforts. During the formation and growth of the group the City of Woodburn was the lead organization providing staff support and financial stewardship for efforts and grants with the ultimate goal of creating a structured organization to move forward.
This strategic plan formalizes the organization of the collaborative which now has a board of directors and a clear path to proceed forward to increase tourism assets, visits and economic vitality to the region.
To date we have created a tourism website www.explorenorthmarion.com, have a travelling interactive informational kiosk available to regional events, worked on several grants through Travel Oregon to assess regional tourism assets, downtown readiness, and most recently a transportation effort which culminated in bus shuttle service from both Portland and Salem which provided transportation to and from the Mt Angel Oktoberfest.
We are excited to sit on the newly formed Board of Directors and continue this valuable work for our area.