Walla Walla Valley Tourism Workspace
The Walla Walla Valley in southeast Washington will participate in the next Rural Tourism Support (RTS) program offered by SWT. Visit Walla Walla will serve as the lead for tourism stakeholders in Walla Walla County and surrounding areas. The program uses a community tourism approach to destination development and is facilitated by sustainable tourism expert Kristin Dahl, founder of Crosscurrent Collective.
Program Details
This program offers a unique opportunity for local leaders and people working in the tourism
and outdoor recreation sectors to collaborate and align their efforts. The goals include creating
a vision of success, learning about global and international trends, and working together to
identify strategies to improve the visitor experience and enrich the local and regional
economies.
The overall program will begin with a high-level conversation about the region’s future. Then the individual workshops will target improving the outdoor recreation experience, identifying new ways to experience local foods, and determining our powerful story through, artisans, makers, and our local culture.
4-6 p.m., Walla Walla, WA
A gathering for participants to build or strengthen relationships that will serve as a program foundation.
9 a.m. – 4 p.m., Walla Walla, WA
Bringing regional stakeholders together to create a shared vision of success and begin designing a roadmap to get there.
9 a.m. – 4 p.m., Waitsburg, WA
Bringing together artisans, makers, local cultural representatives and area stakeholders to collaboratively spotlight local arts and culture to enhance the region’s economic vitality.
5-6 p.m., Waitsburg, WA
An evening networking session that will feature a guest presenter from the region.
9 a.m. – 4 p.m., Waitsburg, WA
Working together and learning from other successful destinations how to identify gaps and opportunities for delivering a world-class outdoor recreation experience, emphasizing trails and routes.
9 a.m. – 4 p.m., Walla Walla, WA
Bringing together growers, raisers/producers and regional stakeholders to learn about current trends and best practices, to create and connect new opportunities to experience local foods.
5-6 p.m., Walla Walla, WA
A celebration of the program’s completion!
Visit Walla Walla, the City of Walla Walla, and State of Washington Tourism are eager to hear from tourism-related stakeholders that live or work in the Walla Walla Valley. Primary communities in this region include Walla Walla, Waitsburg, Dayton, and College Place in Washington, along with Milton-Freewater in Oregon.
Information that you share will help inform what tourism should look like in the region, and what steps can be undertaken in order to get there. Ultimately, this will all feed into the creation of a destination strategy for the region.
The survey should take approximately 10 minutes to complete. Survey will close Oct. 22, 2023.
This survey is being conducted by a third party, Crosscurrent Collective. Responses will be analyzed by Crosscurrent and a summary of the aggregate results will be shared with the project team. Responses will never be attributed to any single respondent.
If you have any questions, please contact Cara Jacobson, marketing director at Visit Walla Walla, at cjacobson@wallawalla.org or 509-525-8727.
Thank you on behalf of Visit Walla Walla, the City of Walla Walla, and State of Washington Tourism.
Cara Jacobson, Visit Walla Walla (convener)
Kathry Austin, Allegro Cyclery
Pete Korfiakis, Bluewood
Mike Rizzo, City of College Place
Bob Francis, City of Walla Walla
Jeanine Gordon, Conf. Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation & Board of Frenchtown Historic Site
Belinda Larsen, Dayton Chamber of Commerce
Kathryn Witherington, Downtown Walla Walla Foundation
James Payne, Fort Walla Walla Museum
Monica Boyle, Gesa Power House Theatre
Maryelizabeth Garcia, Milton-Freewater Downtown Alliance
Gwen Dildine, Outside Walla Walla
Jennie Dickinson, Port of Columbia
Pat Reay and Megan Blair, Port of Walla Walla
Tom Maccarone, TMACS
Brad Trumbow, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Andy Steele, U.S. Forest Service
Judy Bennett, Waitsburg Commercial Club (and American 35)
Tyson Kaup, Walla Walla Summer Theater Group & PAC/KPAC Walla Walla
Andy Gomez, Walla Walla Valley Metropolitan Planning Organization
Greg Lybeck, Walla Walla County Fairgrounds
Arlene Alen, Walla Walla Valley Chamber of Commerce
Liz Knapke, Walla Walla Valley Wine
Nick Velluzzi, Walla Walla Community College
Karen Hedine, YMCA
If you’d like to invite others to participate in the program, here are some materials you can use.
