Washington state is considering a stronger investment in the tourism sector this year, with proposed legislation that would establish the Washington Tourism Marketing Authority. 

Whether that will happen this year remains unclear—the state Legislature has no shortage of challenges it’s trying to address. But even if the support doesn’t come this year, and long term, even if a new authority isn’t the answer, one thing is certain: State legislators should find a sustainable funding mechanism to promote a stand-alone tourism promotion program to attract more visitors to the state. 

As currently proposed, a tourism marketing authority would manage state revenues and contracts for statewide tourism marketing and would be governed by a board with representatives from throughout the state. 

The proposal, if it became law, would direct 0.1 percent of retail sales tax collected on lodging, car rentals, and restaurants to fund the program. By and large, visitor spending would be funding the program. 

Such an authority would resolve a problem the state made for itself in 2011 when it closed its state tourism office. As Visit Spokane CEO Cheryl Kilday has pointed out in the past, Washington became at that time the first and only state in the U.S. with no statewide tourism office and no dedicated funds to promote tourism.  

In an attempt to fill that void, hospitality industry professionals developed the Washington Tourism Alliance, and in the years following, the state put $500,000 a year toward that group. While industry leaders expressed gratitude for those allocations, the dollars fell well short of what other states spend in competing to attract visitors. The Washington Hospitality Association said in a recent report that other Western states have tourism budgets that range from $7 million to $50 million annually. Washington should step up its game. 

Of course, Washington is attracting visitors without spending money on tourism. In Spokane County specifically, estimated visitor spending increased 6 percent in 2015, according to a study commissioned by Visit Spokane. The same study showed that estimated convention-and-event attendee spending and room-tax revenue grew by greater rates. The tourism industry is benefitting from some of the region’s inherent draws, including both its annual events—Bloomsday and Hoopfest—and its natural attractions. 

Clearly, the situation isn’t dire, but restaurants, hotels, and other businesses that rely on tourism dollars are being squeezed by an increasing minimum wage, and they’ll be pinched again next year when mandatory sick-leave policies go into effect statewide. Collectively, they could use a boost, even if it isn’t on the level that other states offer.

The bottom line is that the state likely is leaving money on the table—or more likely, enabling other states to capture those dollars as Washington watches passively. We should inform those who don’t know about what the Evergreen State has to offer. When it comes to attractions, we can go toe to toe with any of them.