Members of the South Coast Tourism Marketing Action Team met at the Wild Rivers Coast Alliance on Monday afternoon, July 10.

Members in attendance were Marie Simonds, Michael C, Tim Scahill, Marcie Nunnelly, with Sea Grant interns Catie Michel and Dustin James. Members to participate in the discussion over the phone were Fiona B, Julie M, Alexa, Andrew, and Kelda of Travel Oregon.

Julie Miller of the Bandon Chamber of Commerce provided a subcommittee report that expressed initiative to apply for a small grant to hire an individual to organize and update OTIS data and files. The goal is to establish an efficient, long term system to maintain management of the ORB/OTIS data.

Marcie Nunnelly of the photography subcommittee provided information about a Survey Monkey that was filled out by the 9 DMOs of the South Coast (including Florence). The results of the survey highlighted the DMOs need to have more professional media assets at their disposal, the desire for collaboration to market the region as a whole, and a training component to educate on how to access these assets. Sea Grant intern Dustin James provided an update on the current Wild Rivers Coast Photo Project which is expected to be completed by end of August. Members of the committee expressed a need for a similar photo project to take place in the northern portion of the South Coast.

Lastly, Marketing Action Team lead Marie Simonds discussed the small grant application for a Local DMO Collaboration and Capacity Development project. This grant would be used to conduct a survey of DMOs in Wildlife Rivers Coast and South Coast Regions to assess current staffing, desired training, desired use of new photo and video assets, marketing goals, as well as the use of OCVA and Travel Oregon resources. Creation of a promotional video showcasing cycling and mountain biking routes in the South Coast is also in the works.

To get more information about the Orb visit: http://industry.traveloregon.com/industry-resources/the-orb/

On June 30th, the South Coast Steering Committee for Outdoor Recreation met at the Wild Rivers Coast Alliance building to discuss the South Coast’s extensive trail system. The purpose of the meeting was to update the Regional  Trails Plan in order to explore proposals to develop and expand existing trails.

OSU Extension/Sea Grant’s Frank Burris facilitated the meeting while other members were from a variety of outdoor recreation-based organizations from the South Coast. After going through the list of 48 trails, individuals ranked each trail based on five criteria: 1) the trails contribution to the outdoor recreation-based economy, 2) its environmental impact, 3) the need for maintenance, 4) the trail’s infrastructure, 5) and the support it provides to the local community. The results are being compiled and will be reported as an addition of the Regional Trails Plan to help guide grant and development work in the future. The network of community stakeholders is currently discussing and planning applications for multiple grants to support trail and outdoor recreation development in the region.

The South Coast Tourism Steering Committee met on Tuesday, June 20, 2017 at 1:00pm at the Charleston Marine Life Center.

This is the local group of volunteers working with a large network of people in the region as a result of the Travel Oregon Rural Tourism Studio process that happened in the Coos Region January-April, 2017

The members that attended were: Marie Simonds, Z Flathers, K Hope, F Bai, T Mace, J Bennetti, Shaun Gibbs, and Miles Phillips with Sea Grant Interns Dustin James and Catie Michel; and members that attended by phone were: Elena Vizzini, JP Bowles, and K Clayborn. ( Apologies to anyone we may have missed)

Marketing Action Team lead Marie Simonds reported that the team is making progress on completing the input of ORB data related to restaurants and tourism operations in the area to help promote them. Agritourism/Eat Fresh & Local Action Team lead Michelle Martin reported that their current main priorities include collaboration with the Wild Rivers Coast Farm Trail and interviewing local producers to gauge interest in being on a farm trail. the Outdoor Recreation Action Team is working on the final vetting of the Regional Trails Plan and construction of new trails in the area.

The Coos County Tourism Workgroup Board  has approved funding match of $10,000 and the Wild Rivers Coast Alliance has offered $10,000 for the other half of the required match for South Coast Tourism Steering Committee Travel Oregon Rural Tourism Studio grant application.

For more information regarding team efforts please feel free to contact the action team leads: Michelle Martin <mmartin@nwumpqua.org> , Dave Lacey, <dave@the peoplescoast.com> Marie Simonds< msimonds@wildriverscoastalliance.com>