The Low Impact Tourism Myth And The Whatcom County Economy

Low impact tourism is the cream cheese frosting of the Whatcom County economy.  

A philosophy that supplants more vigorous sectors of the local economy with Low Impact Tourism is like a philosophy aimed at eliminating vegetables, meats and, grains from a balanced diet and replacing them with cream cheese frosting.

So one can only assume local politicians intent on promoting low impact tourism to the detriment of more vigorous economic sectors are really promoting low wage jobs with limited hours and equally limited sales tax and other tax income for the economy.

Cream cheese frosting simply hasn’t the nutrition to support a large economy but I would never want to do without it; and, I’d never want to downgrade, or eliminate tourism as an important part of the local economy; but facts are facts.  

I will be issuing a short white paper on so called, “Low Impact Tourism” in the near future but, for now, here are some easily checked facts that help put the whole issue in perspective:

1.  Leavenworth is one of Washington’s most famous destination cities for tourism with a Bavarian Village theme, ski slopes at the edge of town, climbing, biking and hiking trails throughout the surrounding area and, according to the Mayor’s report to the people, more than 2 million visitors a year.

Leavenworth’s total Sales and Use Tax Distributions in 2012 according to the Washington State Department of Revenue was $936,242.  

Based on recent conversation by the City of Bellingham as it examines a move from one area of town to another by Costco Corporation, the entire city of Leavenworth receives less in sales and use tax, despite having 2 million tourists visit, than a single Costco Store in Bellingham provides the city in a year.  

2.  By way of further example, the City of Blaine alone received $1,122,250.96 in sales and use tax distributions in 2012.

3.  According to the 2013 report on Washington State Tourism by Damon Runyan Associates, of the six tourism oriented activities examined statewide, Beach, Cultural, Fine Dining, Outdoor Activity, Shopping and, Rural Sightseeing, the three sectors generally defined as low impact tourism are last in terms of dollars spent per partyengaging in the activity while shopping, cultural activities and fine dining led.  It has long been known that Bellis Fair is Whatcom County’s number one tourist attraction and that seems to remain the case though Wal-Mart and Costco are probably close behind.  

NOTE:  It is interesting that a travel industry sector touted as “low impact,” the Outdoor Activities sector, reports, by a considerable margin, the highest spending levels on transportation.

4.   Also based on the Runyan report, two persons working in the Whatcom County tourism industry will earn about 64% of the median family income for the county, qualifying them for low income housing subsidies and other income supplements.

5.  The travel/tourism industry is largely a provider of part time work.  Nationally, the average hours per week an employee works peaks in the third quarter of a year at about 26 hours.  

In short, while the tourism industry truly is an important sector of the Whatcom County economy it is equally, the frosting on the more substantial cake of that Whatcom County economy.  

That means efforts to build the industry beyond what it is today at the cost of more substantial industries and the family wage jobs they provide involves a tradeoff.  

The recent conversion of nearly 9,000 acres of forest land dedicated to use by the forest industry to the 800,000 plus acres of land in Whatcom County already dedicated to tourist uses stands as an example of the tradeoffs made by accentuating a part time, low wage industry in favor of an industry providing a significant number of family wage jobs to county residents.

Frosting is delicious and delightful to behold.  Frosting cannot be the basis of a healthy diet; for an individual or for an economy.

-Jack Petree