Tag Archives: coast

Publication describes how to compare prices, online presence of tour operators

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3-20-19

By Rick Cooper

A new publication from Oregon Sea Grant describes a low-cost method for comparing the prices and online presence of coastal businesses that offer guided tours such as salmon fishing, kayaking or whale watching.

The four-page publication, Low-Cost Method for Conducting an Evaluation of Pricing and Online Presence of Tour Operators, is intended for Sea Grant staff and others who wish to collect, compare and contrast data on tour operators in their area.

Kayaker and paddleboarder on Rogue River

A kayaker and a paddleboarder navigate the Rogue River, near the southern Oregon coast. (Photo by Erik Urdahl)

The method involves selecting the specific towns and types of tours one wishes to target, conducting an online search on each town and tour, and recording and analyzing the results in a spreadsheet.

Author Miles Phillips, a coastal tourism specialist with Oregon Sea Grant and the Oregon State University Extension Service, said he developed the method to evaluate coastal tour operations in Oregon, but that it can also be applied to other locations and types of tours. As the method is Internet-based, research can be conducted virtually anywhere and the results shared collaboratively, he said.

“The results of such data collection, especially if conducted annually, will help fill a gap in long-term trend information about tour operator prices, industry growth or contraction, and types of services,” Phillips said.

In 2017 and 2018, Oregon Sea Grant used this approach to evaluate the online presence and pricing of Oregon coast tour operators. To view the results for 2017, go to bit.ly/2UtYNSs; for 2018, visit bit.ly/2EARzp7.

For information on Oregon Sea Grant’s and Extension’s Sustainable Tourism and Outdoor Recreation program, go to tourism.oregonstate.edu.

Report: Prices and online visibility of coastal tour operators vary widely

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3-8-19

By Rick Cooper

Man holding salmon

In Astoria, Gold Beach, and Lincoln City, more salmon charter businesses were found in 2018; however, in Brookings, Newport, and Tillamook, fewer businesses were recorded in 2018. (Photo by Susan Dimock)

The prices and online presence of companies offering guided tours on the Oregon coast vary widely, according to the author of a new report.

Miles Phillips, a coastal tourism specialist with Oregon Sea Grant and the Oregon State University Extension Service, found that their online presence ranged from prominent to nonexistent.

“Many guides are not effectively marketing themselves online,” said Phillips, who hired two interns – through Oregon Sea Grant’s Summer Scholars program – to analyze prices and Google search rankings for coastal companies that offer salmon-fishing, kayaking, and whale-watching tours.

They found that prices charged for comparable services offered by different tour companies varied by as much as 400 percent.

Phillips summarized the findings in a 13-page report: 2018 Evaluation of Pricing and Online Presence of Oregon Coast Tour Operators.

The findings come from a replica­tion of a study that was first conducted in 2017. The more recent study used the same meth­odology, with some revisions to accommodate Google’s changing presentation of search results.

The 2018 study also found the following:

  • Of the 35 salmon-fishing companies that appeared in their searches, 10 neglected to include information on pricing. “If potential customers are searching online and don’t see a price, they’re not likely to call,” Phillips said.
  • A man and a woman in kayaks

    Since 2017, the number of kayak tours per city has stayed the same at three main businesses along the coast. The prices in two of the three businesses have stayed the same, with one $15 price drop in Gold Beach. (Photo by Erik Urdahl)

    In Astoria, Gold Beach, and Lincoln City, more salmon charter businesses were found in 2018; however, in Brookings, Newport, and Tillamook, fewer businesses were recorded in 2018. This fluctuation may be because businesses had recently opened/closed, or because they did not appear in the top 12 results and were therefore not recorded.

  • Overall, the price of salmon charter tours has slightly increased from 2017. There was one big price drop in Lincoln City, but, generally speaking, prices are on the rise.
  • The number of kayak tours per city has stayed the same at three main businesses along the coast. The prices in two of the three businesses have stayed the same, with one $15 price drop in Gold Beach.
  • The number of whale-watching tours offered in Depoe Bay (four) and Newport (one) has remained the same since 2017. One new whale-watching business was recorded in Tillamook in 2018. Of the 15 coastal towns sampled, only these three offer whale-watching tours.
  • In Depoe Bay and Newport, there was a $3 and $2 average price increase, respectively, in whale-watching tours.

Phillips said the design of this project allows it to be redone over the years, following the same methodology. A third round of data collection will take place this year.

The research was conducted with the support of Oregon Sea Grant, OSU Extension, Wild Rivers Coast Alliance, the Oregon Coast Visitors Association and the Oregon State Marine Board.

For information on Oregon Sea Grant’s and Extension’s Sustainable Tourism and Outdoor Recreation program, go to tourism.oregonstate.edu.

Survey: Coastal tourism workforce needs training in customer service, other areas

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September 6, 2018

By Rick Cooper

Diners enjoy lunch outside at the Port O' Call restaurant on the Oregon coast.

Diners enjoy lunch outside at the Port O’ Call restaurant on the Oregon coast. (Photo by Susan Dimock)

Managers of tourism businesses on the Oregon coast need their workers to be trained in customer service, housekeeping, staff management/human resources, marketing and other areas, according to a survey.

The results of the survey, which were published by Oregon Sea Grant in a 44-page report, also revealed that

  • for those who identified marketing as a program interest, the desired topics were social media and online reputation management, with Facebook as the most desired training topic
  • the probability of workers participating in training workshops was highest for trainings that are on site and in person
  • the majority of organizations face difficulty hiring quality staff and want staff training and workforce-development programs
  • some respondents are unprepared to pay for training; however, those who are prepared indicated that a median cost of about $50 for a four-hour training would be acceptable

Oregon Sea Grant Extension’s Sustainable Tourism Program invited management-level representatives of the coastal visitor industry to complete the online survey between Feb. 7 and March 19, 2018. The approximately 180 respondents included owners, managers and presidents of coastal businesses. The Oregon Coast Visitors Association (OCVA) funded the survey.

Miles Phillips, a coastal tourism specialist with Oregon Sea Grant and Oregon State University’s Extension Service, wrote the report that summarized the findings of the survey. Oregon Sea Grant edited and published the report, which is titled Coastal Oregon Visitor Industry (Tourism) Workforce Needs Assessment 2018.

“This survey revealed highly variable opinions and experiences with employee recruitment and training,” Phillips wrote in an email. “The majority expressed difficulty in finding quality employees; however, a small number described how they have succeeded in finding and retaining employees. This type of survey work is very important to help target training programs in response to the desires of the industry.”

The report aims to help the OCVA, Extension, Oregon Sea Grant, the tourism industry, workforce development agencies, and funding organizations develop and implement training programs.

New publications look at Oregon coast recreational outfitter and tour guide businesses

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Two new publications from Oregon Sea Grant examine several facets of Oregon coast recreational outfitters and tour guides, including their services, pricing, and online marketing effectiveness.

Fishing guide

A fishing guide demonstrates his technique. (Photo by Erik Urdahl)

Assessment of Registered Oregon Coast Outfitters and Guides examines data related to guides registered with the Oregon State Marine Board and provides a summary of some basic information about registered guides in the state, including numbers, locations and types of services provided. A printable PDF of the eight-page publication is available for free download here.

A companion publication, Survey of Online Marketing Success and Pricing for Oregon Coast Fishing Guides and Tour Operators, presents an inventory of guided salmon fishing, whale watching and kayaking businesses. Guide and tour companies can use this study to gauge the effectiveness of their online marketing and to better understand how their services are priced in the marketplace. You can download a free, printable PDF of the 18-page publication here.

Kayaker

A novice kayaker gets the hang of paddling. (Photo by Erik Urdahl)

The publications represent an effort to better understand such businesses’ economic impacts, job opportunities, resource management, professional development opportunities and marketing support. Individuals and organizations that might benefit from these reports include registered Oregon guide businesses, tour operators, coastal tourism promoters, community and economic development firms, natural-resource management agencies and researchers.

The research for both publications was conducted with the support and cooperation of Oregon Sea Grant (OSG), Oregon State University Extension, Wild Rivers Coast Alliance, the Oregon Coast Visitors Association and the Oregon State Marine Board. Authors are Miles Phillips, an OSG Extension coastal tourism specialist; and Catie Michel, a 2017 OSG Summer Scholar. Phillips is also the author of the OSG publications Agritourism in Oregon’s Coastal Counties: Land Use Policy and Permitting Requirements and Transient Lodging Taxes on the Oregon Coast.

 

Newport HS students qualify for international underwater robotics contest

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Students from Newport High School have qualified for an international underwater robotics competition in California after placing first at a similar contest in Lincoln City that tested their engineering and problem-solving skills.

“The Finnovators” were one of 31 teams from Oregon that participated in the state’s 6th annual Marine Advanced Technology Education Remotely Operated Vehicle competition on April 29 at the pool at the Lincoln City Community Center. More than 200 students from elementary school through college demonstrated devices they built for the competition, which aims to prepare students for technical careers.

Teams hailed from Astoria, Warrenton, Tillamook, Lincoln City, Newport, Toledo, Eddyville, Waldport, Florence, Bandon, Albany, Aloha, Tigard, Beaverton and The Dalles.

The competition, which was coordinated by Oregon Sea Grant and sponsored by the Oregon Coast STEM Hub, was divided into four categories based on skill and grade level. Only two of the categories, Ranger and Explorer, allowed students to advance to the 16th annual international competition, which will be held June 23-25 in Long Beach, Calif., and will feature the top 60 teams from around the globe, including ones from Canada, the United Kingdom, the Middle East and Russia.

“The Finnovators” were in the Ranger level, which requires students to perform all tasks without looking in the pool and instead rely only on the sensors and cameras on their robot. Although they are not required to compete in the regional competition, two Explorer-level teams from Linn-Benton Community College and Clatsop Community College demonstrated their robots. They, along with another Explorer team from Oregon State University, are working on fulfilling requirements to qualify for the international competition.

The Oregon event is one of 30 regional contests around the world that are coordinated by the California-based Marine Advanced Technology Education Center.

Each year a new theme is chosen. This year’s theme highlights the role of remotely operated vehicles – or ROVs – in monitoring the environment and supporting industries in port cities. Like port managers and marine researchers, the students at the Lincoln City contest guided their robots through tasks that simulated identifying cargo containers that fell overboard, repairing equipment, and taking samples of hypothetically contaminated sediment and shellfish. Students also presented marketing materials they created and gave engineering presentations.

Additional support for the event came from the MATE Center, the Marine Technology Society, the Association of Unmanned Vehicle Systems International, Oregon State University, the Oregon Coast Aquarium, the Georgia-Pacific Foundation, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. More than 50 volunteers from these and other organizations ran the competition and served as judges and divers.

Photos of the competition can be downloaded from Oregon Sea Grant’s Flickr page.

Read more about the event in the Newport News Times.

Winners of the Oregon competition are:
RANGER CLASS (intermediate level, 1st place finisher advances to international competition)

1st Place – The Finnovators from Newport High School in Newport

2nd Place – Knight Marine from Valor Christian School International in Beaverton

3rd Place – R.U.W.E. from Taft High School in Lincoln City

NAVIGATOR CLASS (intermediate level, participates only in regional competition)

1st Place – Laveer Enterprise from Life Christian School in Aloha

2nd Place – EROV from Taft High School in Lincoln City

3rd Place – ROV Sharks from Wasco County 4-H in The Dalles

SCOUT CLASS (novice level, participates only in regional competition)

1st Place – Valor Tech from Valor Christian School International in Beaverton

2nd Place – Jet Sky from Siuslaw High School in Florence

3rd Place – Water Warriors from Warrenton Grade School in Warrenton

ADDITIONAL AWARD

Team Spirit Award – Water Warriors from Warrenton Grade School in Warrenton