Sonoma Valley Visitor Industry and Planning Study

Sonoma Valley Visitors Bureau, California

The Sonoma Valley is one of the major wine destination regions in California, situated on the periphery of one of the largest and most affluent market areas in North America. The Visitor Association, in partnership with the City of Sonoma, was concerned with how to help maintain successful visitor and wine industries while maintaining the special qualities of this unique destination. We helped identify targets for visitor promotion that emphasize quality and economic benefits, and options for product development that will enhance their position as a premier California wine destination.

Port Gamble Master Plan; Destination Market Analysis

Pope Resources, Poulsbo, Washington

Port Gamble, situated on the Hood Canal in Northwestern Washington, is a historic timber community entirely owned by Pope Resources. DRA analyzed a variety of development options for the community, including reuse of the historic housing and commercial structures, new visitor-related lodging and recreation facilities, special events and educational activities. We prepared financial projections for selected development options and analyzed pertinent competition and development strategies.

North America Package Travel Market and Economic Analysis

National Tour Association, Lexington, Kentucky

This major study of North American package travel will provide a detailed profile of American and Canadian package travel consumers as well as current measures of the economic significance of this industry. Package travel includes travel in groups such as organized tours as well as independent travel packages where purchasers travel on their own. The project involves an extensive survey of package traveler purchasers - conducted by Longwoods International of Toronto, Canada - and a detailed analysis of package travel sales, employment and earnings. The study will be continued annually in order to provide valuable trend and market development data.

Jefferson County/Olympic Peninsula Tourism Market Analysis and Plan

Jefferson County, Washington

The Olympic Peninsula in Washington includes Olympic National Park plus a number of shoreline, forest, historic town, event and other attractions. The region attracts Northwest residents as well at visitors from throughout North America and internationally. Our work in this region has involved a detailed profile of visitors, analysis and assessment of attractions, primary market area survey (the Puget Sound region, in this case), identification of partnership opportunities, and assessment of marketing activities. We made recommendations for establishing new marketing partnerships, establishing and enhancing web-based marketing programs, priorities for marketing expenditures, and suggestions for additional research.