Bend has picked up another one of those “Best Of” honors: This time, it’s being touted as “America’s Top Mountain Biking Town” in Mountain Bike Action magazine.
According to KTVZ’s report, the editors “praised everything from access and lodging, to weather and friendly locals as reasons why they made their ultimate decision.” The story will appear in the May issue of the 66,000-circulation magazine when it hits the newsstands.
Doug LaPlaca, president and CEO of Visit Bend, a local tourism promotion outfit, was preening over winning this distinction.
“To prevail over such respected mountain biking destinations as those we were up against is a perfect example of Bend’s business community rallying together to support tourism and leave a positive and lasting impression on the editors that will reap rewards for years to come,” he said. “From Cog Wild Bicycle Tours and Phoenix Inn, to Green Energy Transportation, Deschutes Brewery and several local bike shops and other businesses, this honor is truly a city-wide achievement.”
Mountain Bike Action Editor-in-Chief Jim McIlvan and Assistant Editor John Ker visited Bend for four days last September and went on several bike trips, including Cog Wild’s Ochoco Mountain, Cascade Lakes and Bachelor-to-Bend tours.
The Eye doesn’t know what methodology the editors employed, but having run our own public relations business for a number of years, we have some idea of how these deals work: 1. Magazine writer is offered an all-expenses-paid junket to the town that’s trying to promote itself; 2. Writer has a good time enjoying the local hospitality, the local recreation and the local beer; 3. Local businesses and/or organizations (typically) buy some ads in the magazine; 4. Magazine declares town “Best Of” something or other.
The article might draw a few more mountain bikers to Bend to spend a few bucks on lodging, meals and what have you, and that’s all to the good. But The Eye has to wonder about the long-term value of puff pieces like this.
What kind of people decide to move to a town on the basis of its mountain biking – or skiing, rock climbing or whatever? Our guess is they tend to be what we call “lifestyle nomads” – folks whose lives revolve around recreation. They move somewhere because they read about it in a magazine, they stay a couple of years until they’re tired of it, then they move on to the next “best” place that they saw in another magazine.
Lifestyle nomads might be perfectly nice people – but, for the most part, they’re not the type who put down roots, establish businesses, serve on the school board or the city council and work to build a good community with a solid, sustainable economy.
This article appears in Mar 26 โ Apr 1, 2009.
MAKE LOCAL JOURNALISM HAPPEN
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
Yes, there are those who are “lifestyle nomads” and bought-and-paid-for “best” puff pieces happen all too often but there are also those who moved to Central Oregon for the outdoor lifestyle for themselves AND for their children. They have good to better jobs, plan on staying (at least) until their children finish high school, and hope that a healthly, active lifestyle will be adopted by their children due in part to living here and being exposed to it. Will they bring guaranteed living-wage manufacturing jobs to Central Oregon? Probably not. But they are still a valuable part of the overall mix of people we should like to have live here.
“What kind of people decide to move to a town on the basis of its mountain biking รข ” or skiing, rock climbing or whatever? Our guess is they tend to be what we call รข lifestyle nomadsรข ย รข ” folks whose lives revolve around recreation.”
—
This might describe me, in that I choose to live where there is good amenities, recreation and climate. I use to live in the burbs of PDX, but I moved closer to Bachelor, since I ski 30-50 days per year.
“They move somewhere because they read about it in a magazine, they stay a couple of years until theyรข โขre tired of it, then they move on to the next รข bestรข ย place that they saw in another magazine.”
—
This does not describe me, since I was born in Oregon and always wanted to get out of the drizzle and fog, and move over to the sunny side of the state. And I am still here after 8 years.
“Lifestyle nomads might be perfectly nice people รข ” but, for the most part, theyรข โขre not the type who put down roots, establish businesses, serve on the school board or the city council and work to build a good community with a solid, sustainable economy.”
—
Well, I actually did serve on said “school board or the city council”, and I am working to “build good community with a solid, sustainable economy”. But it is not easy, and we will see if I can still make it happen in this economy.
Nothing wrong with trying to attract professionals who bring their jobs or companies with them.
But if your definition is only somebody who moves here “because they read about it in a magazine, (then) stay a couple of years until theyรข โขre tired of it” then I agree, who wants those types?
“This might describe me, in that I choose to live where there is good amenities, recreation and climate. I use to live in the burbs of PDX”
I’d give you an argument about Bend’s “good climate” — having winter last eight months a year gets pretty damn tiresome after a while. But I guess if Portland is your only point of comparison, Bend’s climate looks pretty decent.
…to revisit why we have two tourism boards. we have VisitBend who clearly follows their own agenda (cycling) and COVA who seems to focus on nothing other than golf. Why do we spend tax dollars to support two separate tourism boards? Two offices/rents, two executive directors and staff, not to mention the rest of the expenses that go with maintaining their organizations (ad agencies that get puff pieces like this one, operations costs, etc.). In a down economy, or even an up economy frankly, this doesn’t make sense at all and is an abhorrent waste of resources. Combine efforts and take the latest marketing research seriously – create one really good website with a central reservation system that allows potential tourists to find information IN ONE PLACE. Invest the dollars saved in search engine marketing – that’s worth at least one executive director’s salary! Is it purely politics on where the tourism tax dollars go the real reason we have two organizations? If so, that’s not good enough. The Eye should look into this and give the people of Bend and Deschutes County a good explanation why our tax dollars are supporting TWO tourism boards!
Re Bend’s climate, check out today’s post about the “300 days of sunshine” BS.
BTW Klamath Falls also claims “300 days of sunshine” — and it’s closer to the truth in their case.
Harvey: Good point. I believe Visit Bend (officially the Bend Convention and Visitors Bureau) came first, then COVA came along, and both have wielded enough political and popular clout to continue to stay alive. Visit Bend seems to focus on promoting Bend, while COVA promotes the whole region, so there isn’t a complete overlap in function.