�Our latest research shows half of all tourism dollars come from our own residents,� said Pollard.  To entice Seattle and Spokane residents to take more getaways in the great Washington outdoors, for example, Tourism will also plan an in-state radio ad campaign in cooperation with the other tourism marketing organizations such as local visitor and convention bureaus and not-for-profit marketing organizations.  �We also see high returns from people taking active vacations, enjoying our magnificent surroundings. These sophisticated adventure seekers do white water in the morning and white wine in the evening,� said Pollard. 

In response to these findings and the dramatic increase in online travel- related usage and bookings, the Tourism Office of the Washington State Community, Trade and Economic Development will retool its Web site.  �The Web gives us a tremendous opportunity to help develop and market tourism for rural communities throughout our state,� said Pollard. The Tourism Web site will be a portal funneling interested users to sites of local destinations. �Because of the Internet, more remote regions of Washington now have a greater opportunity to be on the map. This should help spread the economic benefits of tourism around our state.�

The Web site will also be used as a resource center for communities interested in economic development through tourism.  Tourism has also created new advertising to position Washington as an adventure travel destination, featuring outdoor activities region-by-region.
The Tourism Office will continue its travel trade and publicity programs to attract group and FIT (free independent traveler) visitors from key domestic and international markets.

OLYMPIA, Wash., Oct. 14, 1999 - Washington�s winemakers and visitor industry professionals are formally joining forces for the first time by forming a new task force to collaborate on the marketing and development of two of the state�s growing economic sectors�wine and tourism.  Spearheaded by the Washington Wine Commission and the Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development�s Tourism Office, the twelve member Wine Tourism Task Force is comprised of representatives from both industries, including hotels, restaurants, wineries, chambers of commerce, and visitor and convention bureaus (list below).
�Partnering with tourism and working together on common issues will help enhance the state�s position as a premier wine and travel destination,� said Washington State Wine Commission Executive Director Steve Burns.

�A delightful part of the wine experience is visiting the winery and winemaker. We want to increase interest in this and other wine-related tourism.� Some of the top wineries in the world are located in Washington state. The industry is growing at about 8 percent a year, and Washington has a sizeable number  -- 135 -- wineries currently in production.

�Washington�s wineries and wine country are one of the top ten visitor attractions in the state,� said Washington State Tourism Director Robin Pollard. �We hope to increase opportunities for visitor interest in these destinations and help drive visitor spending into the more rural, under visited areas of the state,� said Pollard.  The task force has identified four areas of priority: 

1. product development, 
2. research, 
3. legislative issues and 
4. marketing communications. 

�More and more the state is becoming known world-wide as a producer of high quality premium products from coffee to software. Promoting our award winning wine industry helps to further shape the state�s positive image as a vacation destination,� said Pollard. The next Wine Tourism Task Force meeting is scheduled for December 1999.