tourism
Posted inOpinion

Locals Say They Want Tourists to Pay More of Their Fair Share for City Services. A Tweak to Room Tax Rules Could Do That.

Recent changes to Transient Lodging Tax allocations could give more money to the City of Bend — and also reduce tourism numbers.
by The Source Editorial Board

Every time a conversation about funding the streets or local cops comes up, some in the community will use it as an opportunity to ask, “How can we get tourists to pay more of their fair share?” In Bend, the City Council tried in 2016 to increase the local gas tax to make that happen. […]

Posted inNews

Tourism in the Time of COVID: Kevney Dugan, CEO of Visit Bend 🎧 [with podcast]

Where is the fine line between saving the economy and keeping the community safe?
Laurel Brauns

For this week’s “Bend Don’t Break” podcast, we talk with Kevney Dugan, CEO of Visit Bend, the destination marketing organization for the City. Dugan worked in the fly fishing industry before coming on as the group sales manager for the agency 10 years ago. He was then promoted to President, taking over for Doug LaPlaca. […]

Posted inNews

Bend is Awesome. Don’t Come Here.

In an city dominated by tourism, Bend’s city manager makes an order aimed at keeping visitors away
Laurel Brauns

Eric King, Bend City manager released an order Friday, “discouraging tourist travel” through the end of April. It doesn’t outright outlaw it, however, nor does it pose any fines for violations, nor demand cancellations for current bookings. But for some locals, it’s just the type of direction around outside visitors that they’ve been looking for […]

Posted inOpinion

Portland is Finalizing a Deal to Use Tourism Dollars to Battle Homelessness.

It’s a Precedent Central Oregon Should Follow.
The Source Staff

Just about one year ago, this editorial page highlighted the efforts underway in Portland to direct some of the money collected through tourism-related taxes to a fund supporting people on the verge of homelessness. It was a novel idea that caught our attention then—and now that the arrangement, as reported by the Portland Tribune last […]

Posted inOpinion

Don’t Shoot the Preservationist

Permit fees and limited access follow growth
The Source Staff

On Oct. 8, the Deschutes and Willamette National Forests shared their plans for implementing the new special recreation permit fees and a limited entry system at a number of trails in the two forests—which include areas around the Three Sisters, Mt. Washington and other locations in the Central Cascades Wilderness. This is the next step […]

Posted inNews

Game of Groans

Locals, get ready for another summer of sun, fun…& roadblocks?
Chris Miller

Locals, these pages are for you. As the summer—and summer events—season kicks into high gear navigating Central Oregon becomes like a high-stakes game of “Life” mixed with “Sorry!” Here’s some info you might want to know, delivered with a little local humor. (Look for this week’s print edition to play this in real life!) So […]

Posted inNews

City Not Ready for E-Scooters Yet

Assistant city manager said it’s too soon to test shared e-scooters, while the City Council discussed a tourism impact study
Chris Miller

Electric-powered scooters are a growing trend in cities nationwide, including Portland. But during the April 3 City Council meeting, Assistant City Manager John Skidmore told the Council that Bend isn’t prepared to bring shared electric scooters into the city just yet.

Posted inNews

United Airlines to Offer Direct Flights To Chicago

The nonstop service from Redmond will only run in the summer
Chris Miller

Starting next June people in Central Oregon can fly directly to the Windy City. According to a press release from the Redmond Municipal Airport, United Airlines will offer direct flights to Chicago’s O’Hare Airport starting on June 6, 2019. SkyWest Inc. will operate the daily non-stop flights using the Embraer 175 series aircraft, which can […]

Posted inOutside

Another Accolade from Outside Mag

Bend wins again in… wait for it… a beer category
Hannah Williford

When looking for an excellent brew in Bend, craft brewery Crux is the obvious choice. Or Deschutes, or GoodLife, or Boneyard Beer, or Silver Moon, or Worthy or 10 Barrel…. Maybe that’s why Outside magazine deemed Bend one of the best towns in the U.S. to make a beer run in 2018. Bonus: if a […]

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