The county’s foray into tourism is largely viewed in one of two ways.
It’s either a conservative government bucking its own ideology with the isolated belief that the public sector can succeed where the private sector has failed, or an honest and fruitful approach at furthering economic development in Lewis County.
As far as the county is concerned, Discover Lewis County falls flatly and fairly in the latter category.
It’s a stance that jives with the stated mission for use of the county’s lodging tax, a state-approved program that allows the dispersal of money generated through a tax at hotels and motels.
In simpler terms, revenue from taxes on motels and hotels is moved to organizations and causes that will essentially reinvest it to bring more visitors.
It has been used for everything from signage to steam train repairs in the past.
Last year, the county decided to gear that money back to itself to build up so-called agritourism in West Lewis County (think tours of cheesemakers and emu ranches).
That was the initial goal, anyway. Since inception, the idea has morphed to include all of Lewis County, from the snow-capped peaks of the Cascades to the quiet communities of the Boistfort Valley.
To the somewhat disengaged onlooker, it would seem to be an innocuous affair lacking any trace of potential controversy.
Below the surface, though, are tourism leaders who very much see the county’s efforts as fitting snugly within the first viewpoint — an overreaching government taking action in the face of duplicate efforts by the private sector.
There seems to be plenty of room when it comes to promoting the landscapes, businesses and individuals that make our area unique and worth visiting.
The county has already claimed some success, though the website isn’t yet live.
Commissioner Edna Fund, in many ways the face of Discover Lewis County and among its most vocal proponents, told a gathering of the Chehalis-Centralia Chamber of Commerce last month that the East Lewis County area is already seeing more visitors this summer as a result of the county’s efforts.
“They’re seeing more people out there than they ever have before because what they’ve been seeing on Facebook,” she said after briefly detailing the county’s early efforts. “So the more we can share it, the more we can help our county economically.”
As the site has not launched yet, this seems to be a unverifiable claim, one that could create more suspicion in the minds of those who are already skeptical of the time and money being spent by the county.
Discover Lewis County’s Facebook page has about 2,000 followers. That’s a decent number for a startup precursor to a real live web site, but nowhere near the combined 200,000 “likes” for Visit Rainier and Mount Rainier National Park Facebook pages. That’s to say nothing of the 20,000 followers for the White Pass Scenic Byway or the dozens of others jockeying for supporters on social media.
If there is an increase in visitors in East Lewis County, though, it’s likely the result of unseasonably dry and warm conditions, not social media.
Tourism is a worthwhile industry, and in Southwest Washington, an absolutely crucial one. The county recognizes that, even if many tourism leaders find its approach a bit ham-fisted and unnecessary.
But if the county is moving forward nonetheless — and it certainly is — then we should expect more than the usual amount of honesty and candor in reporting results garnished with taxpayer dollars. The county demands accountability from those it grants lodging tax money to, and thus we should expect the same from the county.
That should come months, and maybe years, after the website becomes a reality.
Not weeks before.
