Do Bend residents think the benefits of tourism outweigh the costs? A new study shows a plurality say “no.”
The Oregon State University Sustainable Tourism Lab conducted a survey asking communities how they feel about tourism in their towns.
Forty-nine percent of people in Bend said the costs are not worth the tourism while 21% said the benefits outweigh the costs.
Thirty percent didn’t lean one way or the other.
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Older and long-term residents tended to side with the idea that the costs outweighed the benefits.
Regardless of people’s opinions, Bend is a growing community with more people coming in.
“The reality is this community has grown. There’s more people that live here. And so it’s all of us in upon all of us, whether we live here or visit here, to start having conversations about things like congestion and traffic or what happens on our trailheads. And I think as an organization, we’re doing our best to address that with things like the sustainability fund,” said Kevney Dugan, President and CEO of Visit Bend.
A majority of people who responded somewhat or strongly disagreed with vacation rentals being a positive addition to Bend, which is where some tourists and visitors stay when they are here.
