Destination Ready Application

Applications are due Nov. 15 at 9 a.m. PST

The application period has closed. 

Access the Application Portal.

A single organization will need to submit on behalf of their destination which can be inclusive of multiple communities and organizations. Please review Applicant Eligibility information below. A preview of the Foundant application for planning purposes is available here. All questions should go to development@traveloregon.com. Questions and answers will be posted to the FAQ page.

Applicant Eligibility

The entity submitting the application on behalf of their destination will be considered the lead applicant. Please see the destination geography section below for more details on how destinations can be defined. The lead applicant is responsible for submitting the Destination Ready application and convening meetings with support of Travel Oregon and contractors related to this process through the project development phase in March. Entities may submit multiple applications for different geographical areas within their boundaries, but Travel Oregon will only select up to one destination per applicant to move forward.

Types of eligible lead applicants include:

• Destination Marketing/Management Organization (DM/MO) or Chamber of Commerce
• Oregon’s nine federally recognized tribal governments

Types of ineligible lead applicants include:

• Entities that are not a DM/MO, Chamber of Commerce, or tribe
• Entities that have a bankruptcy or other financial corruption within the past five years

While the DM/MO, Chamber of Commerce, or tribal government is in the lead applicant leadership role, it is the expectation and recommendation that the lead applicant convene a group of partners to engage in the outlined process. Please consider engaging the following types of entities as that support network:

• Regional Destination Management/Marketing Organization
• City, county, and other government entities
• Main Street organizations
• Economic development entities
• Stewardship organizations
• For-profit tourism businesses
• Organizations representing diverse communities and perspectives

Destination Geography

Lead applicants will have the opportunity to define the destination’s geographical boundaries. DM/MO, Chamber, and tribal government service area sizes vary widely but must be intentionally designed based on three criteria:

1. The geographic scale of the destination should be in alignment with boundary or jurisdiction of the lead applicant entity or a subset of that boundary.
   • Examples: Travel Lane County (Lane County or McKenzie River Valley); Discover Klamath (Klamath County or Crater Lake area/North Klamath County)
2. Applicants have the option to include assets external to that boundary only if they are quintessential to their destination visitor experience.
   • Examples: Ontario Area Chamber of Commerce (Ontario and the Owyhees Canyonlands); Condon Area Chamber of Commerce (John Day River Territory and the Painted Hills).
3. The boundaries indicated in the application (communities + assets) must lie within the same tourism region as defined here. Tribes may need to apply for a geographical sub-set of their boundary of tribal lands and service area to meet this requirement. A lead applicant representing multiple tourism destinations may submit one application per destination, but Travel Oregon will only select up to one destination per applicant.
   • Examples: Visit Roseburg (Southern Oregon) cannot include the coastal Douglas County area of Reedsport and Winchester Bay (Oregon Coast) in the same application; The Coquille Indian Tribe’s five county service area touches three tourism regions including the Coast (Coos, Curry & Douglas counties), Southern (Jackson county) and Willamette Valley (Lane county). Only one of the three areas can be included per application.

Criteria for Successful Applications

Travel Oregon will review proposals using the following criteria for how an applicant demonstrates:

Organizational Criteria

• Organizational connection with tourism development and management.
• Demonstrated history of successful implementation of tourism project implementation.
• Organizational capacity and ability to manage the project timeline, implementation, and administration.
• Organization demonstrates how they are addressing diversity, equity and inclusion.
• Completeness of application.

Destination Criteria

• Need for strategic priorities and funding proposal support.
• Clear identification of destination’s geographic boundaries as detailed below.
• Involvement of key community partners representing the full geographic region.
• Partnerships that will support effective implementation of the project.
• Shared commitment and dedicated capacity from partner organizations.

Direct questions to development@traveloregon.com. Questions and answers will be posted to the FAQ page.