Challenge

Unite North Central Washington community leaders across three counties and tribal lands to create a shared vision of community and sustainable tourism that highlights the region’s strengths, honors its people’s stories, and shares its abundance with visitors.

Solution

This region’s size and diversity led us to begin our planning process by ensuring everyone’s voice would be heard. We formed a steering committee to represent the interests of public and private businesses, land managers, conservation groups and the Colville Confederated Tribes. Then, we conducted community outreach and engagement activities to encourage residents to collaborate with these leaders around the region’s challenges and opportunities.

Through a series of workshops, stakeholders recognized that their shared top priority was to come together — and that by honoring and integrating community members’ myriad skills and talents, they could position themselves to welcome visitors, not just because of economic necessity, but out of an overflow of local pride.

Impact

The community’s shared vision established goals for destination stewardship; outdoor recreation; the culinary economy and agritourism; and the community’s arts, culture and heritage. We left a regional leadership team and several action teams in place to help drive immediate progress on short- and medium-term goals.

This Destination Strategy was the pilot project for our Washington Tourism Workspace series. Our work in Washington is ongoing. Learn more at Washington Tourism Workspace.  

SERVICES PROVIDED:

1. Formed steering committee representing 15 diverse organizations
2. Conducted surveys and outreach to engage community and develop a baseline understanding of opportunities and challenges
3. Designed and produced a series of custom community workshops and networking events that focused on advancing outdoor recreation and destination management, food and farm experiences, and arts and culture
4. Crafted a community vision for tourism inclusive of broad community input
5. Supported regional leaders to form a Destination Leadership Team and launch community-led action teams to support top-priority projects

OUTPUTS:

• North Central Washington Stakeholder Survey
• North Central Washington Tourism Workspace – Summary Report

THE TEAM:

• Kristin Dahl, Crosscurrent Collective
• Kate Harbour, Crosscurrent Collective
• Dan Clasen, Crosscurrent Collective
• David Beurle, Future iQ
• Dan Moore, Pandion Consulting
• Maressa Valliant, Sustainable Connections
• Judy Walden, Walden Mills
• North Central Washington Economic Development District
• Matthew Ozuna, State of Washington Tourism
• Mike Moe, State of Washington Tourism