— by Barbara Marrett for the San Juan Islands Visitors Bureau —
The first week in May is National Travel & Tourism Week, created to champion the power of travel to enhance communities across the country by contributing to the local economy and overall quality of life.
In the past, I’ve used this opportunity to outline the cultural and economic benefits visitors bring to our community. This year, however, I’d like to also acknowledge that visitors can challenge the very reasons a location is attractive in the first place. As the Islands have grown in popularity, it’s important to ask: How do we protect or restore the peaceful places locals have grown to love? How do we encourage and educate visitors who want to contribute to making the Islands a better place? What are the best and worst outcomes of tourism on our individual islands?
In an attempt to answer these questions, the San Juan Islands Visitors Bureau is currently spearheading a draft tourism master plan for the County. Over the next few months we will incorporate the comments received from diverse key stakeholder groups. Once these comments are input and the first draft is shared with the County Council, this draft will be shared with the general public for comment.
As the Communications and Stewardship Manager for the San Juan Islands Visitors Bureau, I am in a position to see many sides of complex visitor issues. At the Visitors Bureau we strive to balance economic development with visitor education by promoting stewardship practices like the Be Whale Wise Guidelines and Leave No Trace. While our tourism economy depends on our beautiful environment, a healthy ecosystem intrinsically provides much more than jobs to support our overall well-being.
Now is the perfect time to have an honest dialogue about how to shape our community/destination in terms of economics, visitor growth, sustainability and capacity. Lopez Island just conducted a very civil community conversation on sustainable tourism. Other island communities would do well to follow suit. Once we roll out the draft tourism master plan, please take the time to make your voice heard.
The San Juan Islands Visitors Bureau is the County and Town of Friday Harbor’s official destination marketing organization. It represents over 300 island businesses representing local history, arts, outdoor recreation, agri-tourism and visitor education. Visitors here generated about $203 million dollars in spending and $3.7 million in local taxes during 2015. Lodging taxes paid by visitors help fund many things we love: community theaters, museums, county parks, fairgrounds, festivals and events.
As year-round residents, seasonal workers, or guests, we are all stewards of these amazing islands. We can do our part to preserve island nature and culture for generations to come through thoughtful planning now and balancing of ecological and economic values.
In May, during History Lives Here—National Preservation Month in the San Juan Islands https://www.visitsanjuans.com/history-lives-here, discover the magic of a neighboring island. Stay in a historic lodging, take a history walk in downtown Friday Harbor, attend a history lecture, cruise, concert or museum.
I am glad to read the words stewardship in the same sentence with tourism – I think we have a great opportunity here in the San Juans to be more than a shopping and eating destination – for those to thrive BECAUSE of the way we take care of our islands. That has got to come first, over profits, or we’re all the poorer for it.
We need to take care of and protect our forests and terrestrial and aquatic wetlands, estuaries, and saltwater environments, or all of this is just pretty words while our workers can’t find housing, while rents and land are sky-high, and the middle class and poor people – who make the backbone of the economy, as your service people and shopkeepers, are pushed out.
Well said Sadie! Pushed out indeed! Or “Pushed in” to crowded Eastsound (Urban Growth Area) that has fewer trees and degraded Wetlands that are Not protected for the benefit of all. “Money talks and the Environment walks!”
Spirit Eagle
Sustainability is the key….certainly tourism is a desirable source for revenue generation to provide for necessary employment and support of our restaurants and shops…BUT…how much tourism is the question….tour busses ?…cruise ships ?….overloaded ferries ?….lots of short term rentals….and no housing for our full time residents who support the island ALL YEAR LONG….this needs a lot of soul searching community discussion.
Tony, I question your statement that “certainly tourism is a desirable source for revenue….for support of our restaurants and shops….” Is this true? Tourism requires that we nearly double our infrastructure to handle the overload during three months of the year. Does this make sense financially? Yes, our restaurants and shops get support but when was the last time you needed a shop to buy a whale key chain? And do you think the ups and downs of tourism have anything to do with restaurants going out of business so often? The restaurants that survive are the ones supported by locals. I live in a neighborhood full of empty houses (owners wanting to get rich by changing to vacation rentals instead of year round rentals) while there is no longer housing available for full time residents who work here! All this is a result of tourism. I don’t think it is a good investment.
It breaks my heart and I think we are throwing away our wonderful life trying to support an economy which does not support us or our Islands!
Merry
Merry..I regret that you have missed the point…We as a community must deal with the issues that more tourism creates….which issues we are willing to live with and which we want to reject.Do we want to restrict short term rentals….do we want to subsidies long term housing…..how do we resolve the shortage of a decent roof over the heads of our island population ?AND AT THE SAME TIME provide decent jobs..I submit that a certain amount of tourism is necessary.The question is how much.
An interesting question might be how could tourism help fund housing for the people who work in those restaurants and shops. Maybe we should ship those workers in from the mainland! Aspenization is happening here.
The thing is, we’ve had the chance to make tourism what we want it to be – and all that has happened is more building and more vacation rentals – because that’s where the money is. Our Comprehensive Plan cited many areas to balance – but the truth is, we have sacrificed everything we hold dear for the almighty dollar.
How to rectify this? STOP building vacation rentals. Start with educational and cultural things that give people an EXPERIENCE of healing, being close to nature – retreat spaces, eco-tourism and the like. BUT – tourism should NOT be our main economy. We have had many chances for year round economy without so much tourism.
Anacortes is the second fastest growing city in the USA! That scares me, and it should scare you too. All the while, TESORO refinery is planning to build a xylene plant and navy jets are practicing here and the airport is going to raise the tarmac to accommodate more jets, and TESORO will get a pipeline for bakken crude from Canada if Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain is passed – and sands oil is being shipped here from Vancouver (via Alberta BC) for refining. LNG is making a huge comeback – and through all of this – my point is if we wreck it, we won’t even have tourism to rely on! Will somebody please THINK about what this is all doing to the earth, and what future generations – some of our own relatives included – will inherit?
sorry – correction. Navy jets are practicing near here. You can hear them FROM here and in Anacortes, it rattles windows on buildings and the sound can be deafening – all in the 2nd fastest growing city in the USA. Does any of this make sense?!
A discussion about the challenges of increased tourism too frequently devolves into individual jeremiads (e.g., jet noise pollution is not directly attributable to tourism, to my understanding) as opposed to a balanced discussion highlighting the benefits and costs of increased tourism. A thoughtful discussion acknowledges the benefits of tourism, above and beyond the revenue which supports our valued cultural activities like the library. For example,the availability of summer jobs for teenagers is an advantage to many local families. Let’s stop the Nimbyesque whining about how much the island has changed and go to work devising proactive solutions to shape a positive future which benefits all, and stop beating on the “vacation rental owner” as the catch-all culprit.