Source: Dean Runyan Associates
Tourism dollars at work in Mt. Hood & the Gorge
Many tourism organizations, including Travel Oregon, Experience Mt. Hood and the Gorge and Mt. Hood Territory invest millions of dollars in community initiatives through grant programs, strategic investment funds or direct sponsorship. Click through to learn about the investments that have been critical contributors to local projects in recent years.
Visitor management at Multnomah Falls
Including supporting the summer permit system; marketing car-free alternatives; and stewardship education efforts for well-loved destinations in the waterfall corridor.
Culinary tourism
Including investing in marketing and media efforts that highlight local food producers; funding visitor-facing infrastructure such a Tribal marketplace selling local fish; supporting accessibly at Hood River area orchards; and encouraging visitation to these businesses during travel, while also inspiring brand affinity when travelers return home.
Redesigning the popular Fish Creek Day Use Area
That was lost in the 2020 Riverside Fire, with the aim of developing an accessible boat ramp and creating a new parking layout and options for an accessible path to the Clackamas River.
Trail stewardship
Including promoting off-the-beaten path trails to help disburse visitors and creating a trailhead ambassador program in partnership with local nonprofits to ensure responsible recreation in high-traffic recreation areas.
Mt. Hood & The Gorge
Economic Impact of Tourism in Mt. Hood & The Gorge
$536 million
Direct Travel Spending
5,800
Jobs
4 million
Overnight stays
Local Mt. Hood and Columbia River Gorge tax receipts generated by tourists in 2024 accounted for $17 million in state revenue, and $10.5 million in local taxes— representing more than $704 per local household in the region. For every $100 spent by visitors in the region, $39 goes directly back to locals in employee earnings.
Analemma Wines in Mosier, Oregon Tourism Bolsters Communities
More than 120 cities and counties across Oregon—including seven in the Mt. Hood and Gorge region—collect a local transient lodging tax that is distinct from the statewide tax to expend on local programming. A statewide study conducted by ECONorthwest in 2018 found that cities and counties that levied a local transient lodging tax spent the plurality of the revenue on general services. Other major categories of local investment include tourism facilities such as meeting spaces and sports fields; tourism promotion and marketing through organizations such as Mt. Hood Territory or the Dalles Chamber; arts, culture and entertainment and local events.
In line with statute, 20% of state transient lodging taxes are directed to seven regional tourism organizations, with Visit Central Oregon serving the Central Oregon region, for community responsive tourism development
and promotion. Local transient tax dollars, especially those expended on tourism facilities and promotional programs, can be leveraged against regional and state tourism expenditures to attract and steward visitors in individual communities. This increase in visitors, in turn, increases resources for arts and culture, infrastructure and public services—directly benefiting Oregonians in those communities.
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