May 9--Central Oregon's tourism industry declined further than the rest of the state in critical areas of occupancy and lodging revenues in March, according to statewide lodging statistics released Thursday.

But separate transient room-tax collection data, also released Thursday, showed some pockets of resilience in the region's tourism industry.

Central Oregon occupancy and room revenues fell 10.6 percent in March from March 2007, according to statewide measurements by Hendersonville, Tenn.-based Smith Travel Research.

By comparison, overall occupancy and revenues for the state dropped 3.3 percent and increased 2.3 percent, respectively.

Nationally, occupancy was down 4.7 percent in March, while revenues increased 1.8 percent, according to the data.

Smith Travel's data include only participating properties throughout the region and the state.

"The Smith Travel data gives a broad-based snapshot," said Alana Audette, the president and CEO of Central Oregon Visitors Association.

"It's not surprising because we knew business was off. It's going to be off for the second quarter as well."

The winter months are typically when Central Oregon's tourism economy, which generates an estimated $542.5 million annually, slows in both occupancy and revenues for local lodging properties, Audette said.

This year was especially difficult because travelers were deterred by wintry driving conditions and the slowing economy, Audette said.

"We're looking forward to the summer weather," she said. "It's hard to see businesses hurting."

Summer bookings are pacing about flat with last year, which set records for room-tax collections in August, Audette said.

"If we're on pace, that's a very good sign," she said.

COVA also released room-tax collection data Thursday from individual cities and counties in the tri-county region. Room taxes are collected by local municipalities from each overnight lodging property. The properties collect the taxes from guests.

Room-tax collections for Bend's lodging properties -- which draw mostly business travelers and last-minute leisure travelers -- declined 8.6 percent in March. The city collected $224,622 in room taxes in the month, down from $245,876 in the same month the previous year.

The city's room-tax revenues were down 9.3 percent in December, 1.6 percent in January and were up 1.2 percent in February, all compared with the same months in the previous year, according to the data.

For the unincorporated areas of Deschutes County, which includes much of the region's resort community, room-tax collections rose 4.8 percent in March over March 2007, according to the data.

"It just shows that leisure travel is stronger than commercial," Audette said. "March was OK for the resorts, but we weren't breaking any records. People were giving decent rates."

Despite the slowing national economy, Bend could see tourism pick up in the coming months, said Doug LaPlaca, president and CEO of the Bend Visitor & Convention Bureau, which markets tourism for the city of Bend.

"Right now, we're in a shoulder season," LaPlaca said of the slower tourism months between the ski and summer seasons. "The important months are June through September. I'm confident that we will see an increase."

Travelers who would otherwise take trips abroad or to locations such as Disneyland or New York City might otherwise choose to travel in-state, LaPlaca said.

"Historically, during a recession, people travel closer to home," he said. "The slowing economy favors us as a regional tourism destination."

The city of Redmond experienced a 30.3 percent drop in room-tax collections in March, to $25,600, down from $36,753 in March 2007, according to the COVA data.

Room-tax collections for the city of Prineville declined 9.3 percent in March, to $13,899, down from $15,318 in March 2007.

Both the city of Sisters, which measures data each month, and Jefferson County, which measures data quarterly, showed room-tax collection gains at the end of March.

Sisters' room-tax collections for March grew about 31 percent to $13,145 and Jefferson County, which opened the new 72-room Inn at the Cross Keys Station hotel in October 2007, grew 5.9 percent for the quarter, to $48,623, according to the data.

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