Report urges Sequim to extend tourism season, target wood products and lab‑linked R&D

Leland Consulting's economic analysis for Sequim emphasized the city's dependence on tourism and health care and recommended policy steps to diversify higher‑wage employment and mitigate seasonal swings. "Tourism, of course, a very important topic," Andrew Oliver said, and the presentation noted downtown and lodging tax peaks during summer (May–September) tied to events such as the Lavender Festival.

The consultants showed that health care and education jobs generally pay more than tourism and service jobs and cautioned that changes to Medicaid and other funding programs could affect local health‑care employment. They recommended pursuing higher‑wage growth areas where the region has strengths—wood products and beverages were singled out as clusters with existing specialization on the peninsula—and exploring craft/flex industrial or small manufacturing space to support local entrepreneurship.

Andrew also recommended the city leverage proximity to a local lab for clean‑energy research and business collaboration, but noted limited industrial land and infrastructure constraints. He highlighted that some industry prospects (e.g., marine or Amazon warehousing) are limited by local geography and regional development elsewhere.

To address seasonality, the consultants suggested marketing and programming to extend visitation beyond peak months, such as winter events or corporate‑retreat promotion, and continued coordination with the Visitor Bureau and Tourism Commission. They also recommended maintaining engagement with the Port (which owns marina land) to assess small marine employment uses.

The presentation closed by tying economic recommendations to housing—encouraging a supply of housing affordable to tourism and lower‑wage workers—and to implementation options that will appear in the comprehensive plan and forthcoming development regulations.