PORT TOWNSEND — Traffic across Hood Canal Bridge shows marked declines since 1999, and the president of the Olympic Peninsula’s oldest tourism organization says British Columbia’s 2010 Winter Olympic Games pose a grand opportunity to promote the Olympic region’s visitor value.
“We have to at least acknowledge that travel on the bridge is significantly lower and that a lot of that is attributable to the tourists,” said Dan Youra, Olympic Peninsula Travel Association president/CEO.
Youra took his Peninsula promotion plan to Jefferson County commissioners on Monday, asking them for possible funding to promote the region before and during the Games start at Vancouver and Whistler, British Columbia.
Two commissioners, David Sullivan and Phil Johnson, recommended that Youra take his idea to the Lodging Tax Advisory Committee.
While the U.S. Olympics Committee is enforcing use of the word “Olympic” by businesses, Youra said using it in reference to geographical locations such as the Olympic Peninsula is acceptable under the Sports Act of 1978.
He proposes an “Oly Festival” through the end of the year, promoting events around the Olympic Peninsula.
