This month is high season in Thurston County, and the very definition of a balancing act. We’re balancing earned media with paid media, social media with in-person outreach, the crush of what’s pressing today with what we know is critical for our future.
Thurston County can really show off its finest this time of year and we’re incredibly proud of the hard work and creativity of our friends and neighbors in the community—Thurston County events and attractions draw thousands of visitors from around the world, and we couldn’t be happier to be entrusted with sending out the word to welcome guests to the party. |
Welcoming Influencers & The Press
Our marketing team has been scrambling like crazy to bring media exposure to all corners of Thurston County this summer. These included: -
Megan Roe (@seattle.food.diva), a Seattle based food influencer, visited several attractions throughout Thurston County between July 25 – 27. Megan visited Olympia, Lacey, Tumwater and Yelm stopping at a variety of foodie/libation establishments and included stops at several outdoor attractions throughout the county.
- Jim Farber, an experienced music, travel and lifestyle writer working with high profile publications such as The New York Times, Time Magazine, Mojo, New York Daily News, The Epoch Times visited July 28 – 31. Jim went to several attractions within the county to research the destination for The Epoch Times and Creator IQ – Unique/outdoors travel + Destination activity guides’ feature.
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Kelly Hanson (King-TV - @livewithkellyhanson), visited August 1st to capture footage at the following locations to highlight Thurston County’s lavender season: Schirm Loop Homestead Lavender Farm, Ember Goods to feature the Lavender Latte, Shiplap Shop and Coffee House in Yelm for their Lavender Lemonade and Cobblefield Lavender Farm in Rochester. The footage will go live on her YouTube channel (Local Lens) as well as King-TV in August.
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Clara Hogan (@claramhogan), a travel writer with TimeOut, 7x7 and several California based publications visited the County between August 8 – 10. During Clara’s stay, she researched the county for a food and family friendly travel feature in two of more of the several publications in which she writes, including TimeOut and 7x7.
And visits on the horizon include: - Media will be attending Harbor Days (September 3) to feature a variety of event activities, including the historic tugboat races.
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Alex Ford (@alexandr_ford), a PNW-based photographer and content creator planning to showcase Thurston County as a road trip destination in August.
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Destination Master Planning Update
Experience Olympia & Beyond is excited to announce that after a lengthy Request for Proposals process, we’ve selected a firm to help shepherd the Destination Master Planning process from dream to reality! The firm has been tasked with creating an inclusive roadmap that will enhance Thurston County’s competitive position relative to other desirable tourism destinations, balancing visitors’ needs and wants with quality-of-life protections for local stakeholders and residents.
The Destination Master Plan will tie existing plans across each Thurston County community together and ensure a collaborative planning process essential to taking our destination to the next level, both for locals and visitors. Once the project contract is finalized we’ll share a formal announcement—stay tuned! |
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Celebrating Social Media Growth
We’re thrilled to announce that our social media audience hit a new milestone this week, with our Facebook audience officially hitting 15,000! We are extra proud because due to a whole entanglement that would take waaaay too long to explain, we were forced to completely shut down our previous FB account in 2022 and start from ground zero. Really good work Heidi and Melissa on the EOB team—way to not only turn things around, but to pave the way for this audience to really take off!
You're following us, right?
Facebook | Instagram | Tik Tok
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Experience Olympia & Beyond Recognized at Destinations International Annual Convention
Experience Olympia & Beyond was one of a select few destination organizations worldwide to be reaccredited through Destinations International’s Accreditation Program. The DMAP seal is awarded in recognition of the organization's commitment to industry excellence and meeting the industry standard for performance and accountability of destination organizations around the world.
"By achieving DMAP accreditation, Experience Olympia & Beyond has demonstrated that they have developed strategies for the direction of their destination and the policies and procedures to safeguard the use of public dollars,” said Maura Allen Gast, FCDME, executive director at Visit Irving, and Immediate Past Chair of the DMAP Board.
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Agritourism Advisory Committee Members Needed
Interested in having a voice in shaping Thurston County’s agritourism community? Experience Olympia & Beyond is seeking qualified candidates to serve a two-year volunteer term on the Agritourism Advisory Committee. Committee responsibilities include reviewing marketing activities conducted for the Thurston Bountiful Byway and approving new partners. Committee service is a minimal time commitment, requiring attendance at up to six 1.5 hour meetings per year. Interested parties can apply HERE
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Top 10 Pages - July
Each month look for a new Top 10 Pages list and we’ll show you the ten most visited pages on experienceolympia.com from the month before. Events are a big draw for our visitors and you'll notice that page is almost always #1. Make sure your upcoming events are displayed on our website by submitting them here. For the month of July, our top 10 most visited pages (excluding the homepage) are:
- *Events: Lacey Fireworks Spectacular
- "Events: Tumwater 4th of July Celebration
- Events
- *Events: Lakefair Week
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*Events: Thurston County Fair
- Events: Annual Events/4th of July
Things to Do - Events: Annual Events/Capital Lakefair
*Events: Oregon Trail Days -
Blog: Top 7 Spots to View Mt. Rainier
*This event has passed and is no longer featured on the website |
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Sign Up Your Team for CTA Training & Increase Your Bottom Line With Better Services
Did you know? Experience Olympia & Beyond is one of two accredited providers in the Pacific Northwest for the nationally-recognized Certified Tourism Ambassador (CTA) training! CTA training is an interactive discussion of how to promote Thurston County both to visitors and to residents so that community leaders can create positive experiences for those who stay and play here – we spend a lot of time talking about things to see and do in the area. Businesses that go through this training report more sales and higher customer service ratings!
Sign up today for our next training event: - Thursday, September 14, 8 a.m. - 12 p.m., Indian Summer Golf & Country Club
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Sales Update
Multiple sports events were actualized in Thurston County in July, including the USSSA Cascades National Fastpitch Championship the week of July 10, bringing in thousands of athletes, coaches, and families from around the country. Pre-tournament festivities included a golf tournament at Tumwater Valley Golf Club, a scavenger hunt and movie night at Capital Mall and an Opening Day skills competition and Dance Party at the Regional Athletic Complex in Lacey. The Washington State Senior Games officially kicked-off July 22, with some events occurring earlier in the month and a few to be held in August, including Pickleball with a record 455 participants.
The Sports Commission is assisting venues with putting together bids for new multi-year events, including the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) Cross Country and Slowpitch Softball Championships. We had a notable tour experience for a group of Navy spouses in the area for a retreat. They experienced a “Farm & Field Day” on the Thurston Bountiful Byway. The tour included stops at the Evergreen Valley Lavender Farm, Tahoma Vista Fiber Mill and Sandstone Distillery. The group spent more than $1,200 at just one of the stops. |
2023-24 Guides—Request Your Copies Today
This year’s new Visitor Guide, Community Guides, and Thurston Bountiful Byway Map are available for pick up at our administrative offices on the following dates—please shoot us a note to let us know if you’ll be swinging by! - Monday, August 14, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.
- Wednesday, August 16, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.
- Monday, August 21, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.
- Wednesday, August 23, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.
The Experience Olympia & Beyond office address is:
2424 Heritage Ct SW, Ste. 101 Olympia, WA 98502 If these dates don’t work for you or if you need to request more guides throughout the year, please reach out to [email protected].
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Get To Know Your Fellow Partners! |
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| Bittersweet Chocolates What do two women who have an insatiable love for chocolate, turning special moments into lifetime memories, and bringing affordable luxury to ever day people like you and me do when they retire? They open an affordable, handmade chocolate boutique in downtown Olympia highlighting the finest local and organic ingredients. |
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Support Local Lodging Tax-Funded Events |
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At Experience Olympia & Beyond, we’re committed to sharing our resources in a way that allows each of us to be as informed as possible and make tourism marketing and community development decisions. Discover current travel analytics by reviewing our most recent scorecard. |
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