PORT ANGELES — Registration is being accepted now for the 2018 Olympic Peninsula Tourism Summit.
“We’re Gonna Need a Bigger Boat,” a discussion about sustainable local tourism, is open to all businesses across the region. The summit at the Vern Burton Community Center, 308 E. Fourth St., Port Angeles, is set for Nov. 1-2.
“This year’s program … speaks to sustainable tourism across the Olympic Peninsula’s tourism industry, its economic impact and future planning,” said Marsha Massey, Olympic Peninsula Visitor Bureau executive director.
Registration for the full summit is $199, with each additional attendee $179. Registration for Nov. 1 only is $164.
Reservations can be made at olympicpeninsula.org/tourism-summit and at www.chambersignups.com.
The Olympic Culinary Loop also is sponsoring a pre-summit Lunch and Learn on Oct. 31 at the Red Lion Hotel, 221 N. Lincoln St., Port Angeles, from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. with a presentation by Jonathan Tourtellot, CEO for the nonprofit Destination Stewardship Center (destination center.org), on “Cultivating Sustainable Agritourism All Around the Loop.”
To sign up for Lunch and Learn, go to www.olympic culinaryloop.com.
During the two-day summit sessions will explore answers to these questions: How do we start to envision the future for tourism on the Olympic Peninsula together? What’s working? Where are the gaps? How do we look to grow tourism in a thoughtful and sustainable way? What does the next chapter look like?
Tourtellot will be the luncheon keynote speaker Nov. 1.
Other speakers will include Paul Ouimet, president and CEO of NEXTFactor Enterprises Inc. and managing director for DestinationNext, providing findings from a recent destination assessment survey for the Olympic Peninsula, and Mike Moe, managing director of the Washington Tourism Alliance, about new tourism marketing for Washington state.
Destination assessment workshops and learning labs are planned the afternoon of Nov. 1 and the morning of Nov. 2.
They will cover a range of topics from sustainable tourism practices to technology trends to tourism grant funding.
The summit concludes with lunch Nov. 2.
The Olympic Peninsula Tourism Summit is sponsored by the Olympic Peninsula Tourism Commission, a marketing partnership of the chambers of commerce and tourism marketing entities across the Olympic Peninsula.
This year’s host city is the city of Port Angeles, working with the Port Angeles Regional Chamber of Commerce.
For more information, see olympicpeninsula.org/ tourism-summit, call the Olympic Peninsula Visitor Bureau at 360-452-8552 or email info@olympic peninsula.org.
