LINCOLN CITY — Not all visitors to Lincoln City will be able to read the new banners unfurled here this year.

But it’s a safe bet they’ll get the message: Welcome.

And visitors from Spain, Germany, Italy, China, Korea and Japan will see it in their native tongues.

It’s all part of an effort to reach out to the increasing number of international travelers who are visiting the Oregon Coast.

“We’re seeing a lot more of a mix of races and cultures than I’ve seen in some time,” said Sandy Pfaff, executive director of the Lincoln City Visitor and Convention Bureau. “The travel from Canada has been incredible the last year and not just from British Columbia, but from Alberta, which is considerably farther away.

“We have seen quite a bit of Germans and some increase in Asian visitors.”

In Cannon Beach, hotels are hosting more guests from Japan and Germany, while Seaside recently hosted a group from Belarus.

“They loved it,” said Jon Rahl, director of tourism marketing for the Seaside Visitors Bureau. “That being a pretty low, landlocked Eastern European country, for many of them it was the first time they saw the ocean. It kind of brings out the little kid in everyone.”

China is also an emerging market, with recent changes in visa policies making it easier for the Chinese to travel, Rahl said.

In Newport, innkeeper Brendan Carmody has seen a surge in European visits to his new eco-friendly hotel, Greenstone Inn. He believes the increase may have something to do with the American dollar, which has been weaker than the euro. But he also notices that European visitors appreciate his environmentally friendly efforts.

“What I’ve noticed is that European travelers are very aware and interested in green technology,” Carmody said. “We have card docking — when you go into a room you put the card in a docking station and that powers up the whole unit. When you leave you take your key out and that turns out the power in the unit. The Europeans are totally familiar with that. We had a lady from Macedonia who stayed a week in March, and it wasn’t her first stay.”

The weak U.S. dollar may play a role in attracting Europeans, but Lorna Davis, executive director of the Newport Chamber of Commerce, says the bulk of the credit goes to Travel Oregon, the state tourism commission.

“Travel Oregon is recognized as being one of the most innovative tourism bureaus in the whole of the USA,” Davis said.

A 1 percent hotel occupancy tax that went into effect in 2004 and is dedicated to promoting state tourism is helping the commission do its job.

The state has gone from being 47th in tourism budgets to 26th, according to Teresa O’Neill, vice president of global sales for Travel Oregon.

“That really put us ahead of the game,” O’Neill said. “Since that time, Washington has closed their tourism office, and other states have decreased their budgets. We’ve really risen in the ranks.”

As part of the state campaign, Davis has visited about a half dozen countries to promote the central Oregon Coast. The travel agencies are already familiar with what Oregon has to offer. It’s up to people like Davis to come up with itineraries that fit their needs.

“Newport offers an authenticity and natural beauty that make a visit here palatable,” Davis said. “Visitors want to see the aquarium, to walk on the Bayfront and shop in Nye Beach. The beach is something they enjoy. They are looking for nature and splendor, that ‘awww’ moment that Oregon has to offer.”

Foreign visitors also stay longer and spend more than their domestic counterparts, Davis said.

The increase in visitors, combined with their spending habits, has helped take the bite out of the recession-related losses in the travel market. And now, domestic travel is also picking up, giving business owners hope that the worst is behind them.

“We’ve been comparing this year to last year, and our numbers are up about 25 percent,” said Sharon Visser, spokeswoman for the Cannon Beach Chamber of Commerce.