With about 1.5 million visitors to Medford last year, the data showed people stay for about two days on average per visit. Travelers mostly come from surrounding states on the west coast, or cities about a five-hour drive from Medford. Cates said Travel Medford spends most of its marketing dollars outside of the area to bring in visitors, but a small amount is reserved to spend locally and build community pride. Travel Medford continues to have record-breaking social media numbers, with over 34,000 fans on Facebook and 13,000 on Instagram. They also leverage PR to promote word of mouth on a large scale. “Last year there were over 26 articles written about our area, which equals about $9 million in ad spend,” she said. Then Maclayne De Mello, Community Partnership Coordinator for Travel Medford, spoke about event promotion. One of the area’s most successful and newests events — the Heart of the Rogue Festival — debuted in 2022. With an estimated 7,000 attendees, the festival was a huge success. “It brought a deeper awareness about Medford and the Rogue Valley, as well as more visitors to the downtown area,” she said. Lastly, Angela Wood, Travel Medford’s Director of Sports Development, discussed the growth surrounding sports tourism in the region. In 2022, Travel Medford launched a new campaign promoting Medford as a “Sportground”
where visitors could engage in a variety of indoor and outdoor sports activities. Over the past year, the campaign has continued to evolve. Additionally, Wood said they are growing the “Know Your Role” campaign, which addresses poor behavior in youth sports. “We are licensing the campaign throughout the nation,” said Wood. New and more varied sporting events have also arrived in Southern Oregon, including the 2023 American Cornhole Organization Oregon Major, which brings more visitors to the region and funnels additional dollars into the economy. Since the pandemic, travel and tourism in Medford and Southern Oregon has grown significantly and steadily. People seeking adventures and unique travel experiences continue to explore the region, boosting the local economy and helping local businesses. n
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June 2023 | The Business Review
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