Chamber lays out 15‑year "responsible tourism" plan for Snowquami Valley, urges North Bend to focus on management not promotion

Kelly Coughlin, director of the North Bend chamber, told the City Council on June 16 that a valleywide “responsible tourism” initiative aims to manage visitor growth rather than simply attract more tourists.

The project, Coughlin said, was enabled by a State of Washington rural tourism support grant (presented figure: $320,000) and an additional $50,000 pilot contribution from the Port of Seattle. She said the work brought together federal land managers, county parks, tribal representatives, local businesses and nonprofit partners to build a coordinated plan and steering committee.

"The goal is not to attract more visitor. The goal is to ask how do we welcome visitors responsibly, protect our natural resources and support the local economy," Coughlin said.

The presentation outlined a 15‑year vision for 2040 focused on stewardship, economic resilience and dispersing visitors among multiple valley towns so visitation yields local economic benefits while reducing pressure on sensitive sites. As one example of near‑term action, Coughlin and guest speaker Christy Lake described the Snowquami Valley Heritage Trail: a proposed 25‑mile interpretive route using a former rail corridor with trailhead signage, a printable map and a website to route visitors through downtown hubs and historic sites.

Lake, introduced as executive director of the Snowquami Valley Trail action team, said the trail is intended to encourage longer, multi‑stop visits so visitors “spend more money in your community.” She described a two‑year, $30,000 Port of Seattle grant to create an interpretive plan and produce trailhead panels.

Coughlin also presented visitor data she said the chamber purchased with a $20,000 data grant. She reported valley figures for 2023 of about 7.4 million total trips and more than 10.1 million visitor days, and used an illustrative calculation that applied a conservative $75 per‑visitor spending assumption to roughly 3.5 million annual visitor trips to estimate about $262.5 million in direct visitor spending and roughly $393.8 million in total economic impact with a 1.5 multiplier. Coughlin acknowledged methodological limits when councilors asked about data sources and agreed to share the underlying reports and heat maps with council for review.

Beyond planning and wayfinding, the chamber is promoting visitor communications and public‑safety messaging under a “Wander Wisely” campaign that emphasizes cold‑water and wildlife safety, fire‑season precautions and respect for tribal and private lands. Coughlin linked the outreach to recent incidents—she cited a bear attack and a drowning—as reasons to combine visitor education with infrastructure and emergency‑service planning.

Coughlin recommended that North Bend participate in destination leadership, invest selectively in wayfinding, signage and public restrooms, and support creation of a destination management organization focused on managing visitation rather than on pure marketing. "We already have the visitation here," she said; "this is about how we manage it and how North Bend participates in shaping the outcome."

Councilors asked several technical questions about data vendors (Datafy and Placer AI were named) and limitations such as Apple‑device coverage; Coughlin agreed to provide the full data sets and heat maps to council. Councilors also discussed a large nearby parcel up for auction that could affect trail access; staff and presenters said King County holds trail right‑of‑way for the corridor and that county partners and nonprofits are monitoring the sale.

Next steps identified in the presentation include continued coordination with valley partners, refinement of local infrastructure priorities (wayfinding, restroom and trailhead investments), and sharing the chamber’s data with city staff and council committees to inform future budget and policy decisions.