SEASIDE – Travel means jobs! With the passage of Labor Day and the change in seasons, its an important reminder about what travel means for the United States, Clatsop County and Seaside. The industry is huge and its impact has a big effect on each and every one of us. I wrote about this topic in April (prior to National Travel & Tourism Week) but a few of the numbers deserve repeating as we gradually move into the fall travel season and look back at what I continue to see and hear as a fantastic summer.

14.4 million employees have jobs in the United States that are supported by travel, which means one out of every eight jobs plays a role in tourism. In Clatsop County, that number jumps to one out of every four jobs. And taking that a step deeper, the percentage of jobs for those working in travel increases to nearly 35% in Seaside.

If you worked in the hospitality sector this summer or have in the past, thank you for what you do. Its the smile you share with a traveler or the advice you give that impacts visitors and often translates into dollars in our community.

OREGONS NORTH COAST UPDATE: This past spring, in cooperation with the Astoria-Warrenton Area Chamber of Commerce and thanks to a grant from the Oregon Travel Commission, we launched Oregons North Coast as a joint marketing venture to extend the message of traveling beyond our individual communities. TV advertisements ran throughout the month of April on KGW-TV with a push to encourage travel to the entire North Coast. Im happy to report that we will be continuing that campaign this fall with additional advertising through the Comcast Cable network.

Advertisements will begin next Monday on select channels and run through the middle of October. The messaging will mirror spots that ran in April with updated imagery and our tagline that encourages folks to Come on, lets go play. Im extremely proud to be a part of this project, which showcases our beautiful scenery while also appealing to the nostalgia-seeker in each of us. You wont see those spots here on the coast, but trust that our message is reaching a targeted market in the valley that we believe will translate into repeat or future travelers.

OTHER NOTES: If you havent visited our Facebook page this summer, I encourage you to check it out. Part of our continuing effort to engage with fans (7,200 likes and growing) is to show Seaside through the eyes of a local and what we do for fun. New photos of the week are posted on Sunday and link to a blog that shares the story behind the particular photo we post. To join the conversation, visit facebook.com/SeasideOR.

Have a thought or a comment based around tourism? Send me an email at jon@seasideor.com. Find us on Facebook at Facebook.com/SeasideOR.