For the sixth year in a row,  Bend is the No. 1 destination for Oregon travelers who come seeking outdoor concerts, a lazy float down the Deschutes River, or ziplining down Mount Bachelor. 

AAA is predicting about 506,000 Oregon drivers will hit the road over the long Memorial Day weekend — the start of summer travel.

Aside from Bend, they’ll go to Portland, Eugene, Boise and the Oregon Coast. 

Nationwide, about  45.1 million people will travel over the Memorial Day weekend by car, air or other modes of transportation, according to AAA. That’s an increase of 1.4 million travelers, or 3.1% more traveling over 50 miles from home. 

“Visitors are drawn to Central Oregon to experience Mount Bachelor’s unique volcanic terrain, vibrant events and the laid-back outdoor lifestyle,” said Presley Quon, Mt. Bachelor ski area communications and community relations manager. 

Travel and tourism is an important sector of the Central Oregon economy, bringing in $1.2 billion in economic impact to the regional economy in 2024, according to a Travel Oregon study. About 10,700 people were employed in tourism in Central Oregon in 2024, up 0.7% from the year previously. The tax dollars generated by hotels and transient accommodations help fund police and fire through a transient room tax. In 2024, $27.1 million was generated in room tax in Central Oregon, according to the report.  

While the industry remains vibrant, unknowns lurk this summer, said Nate Wyeth, Visit Bend senior vice president of strategy.  Industry officials remain optimistic despite uncertainty over the economy and tariffs.

“Overall people are feeling pretty good about the summer and we’re looking at flat projections over last year, which was a strong summer,”  Wyeth said. “The biggest impact is wildfire and the smoke related to that.”

Shoring up the industry 

One bellwether could be the projected flat or slight decline in hotel room rates. For the past year, hotels and other accommodations have experienced a decline in nightly room rates. Even Sunriver Resort, with its 239 hotel rooms and 350 high-end vacation rentals, has seen room rates softening as visitors seek to get more value for their money, said Tom O’Shea, Sunriver Resort general manager. 

“Summer travel is strong,” O’Shea said. “The area we might see some pressure is what people are willing to pay in terms of room rates. People want to come to Central Oregon, but they’re bargain shopping.”

Visit Bend is hoping to offset any declines by marketing the summer months, something it hasn’t done in six years, Wyeth said.  

“We’re using data to support this effort, and we want to keep the community impact in mind,” Wyeth said. “What we’ve seen since we haven’t been marketing for summer is that the occupancy has continued to decline, with the exception of the COVID-19 summer.”

The marketing nonprofit wants to ensure that the city can receive its share of the transient room tax and yet maintain the lifestyle that everyone covets. Each room night generates a transient accommodation tax that supports fire, emergency services and marketing efforts. In the 2023-2024 fiscal year, the city of Bend collected $14.4 million in transient room tax and Deschutes County collected $12.4 million, according to a report on Visit Bend’s website. 

“We understand the vital role that the room tax plays to maintain city services,” Wyeth said. “We’re taking a surgical approach to the marketing effort and focusing on the driving market like Portland, and aiming for mid-week travel so we can minimize the impacts to the residents on the weekends. We’re being mindful of the impacts of tourism.”

Working together

Visit Bend also wants to make sure that visitors know what to do when they’re here if there’s a smoky day or there are wildfires nearby, Wyeth said.

Hotels and activities will have information letting visitors know that wildfires do happen in the region and that they should know about evacuation procedures and what indoor activities are available if it’s too smoky to be outside to recreate,  Wyeth said

At Sunriver Resort, the rebranding effort last year was designed to showcase indoor activities like indoor swimming and pickleball to accommodate visitors during those times when the weather isn’t cooperating, O’Shea said. 

“We’re adding to our website information about air quality and sharing regular communication without travel partners,” he said. “Since 65% of our visitors are repeat visitors, it’s important to the industry that we communicate the diversity of activities in the region that they can engage with. 

“Repeat visitors engage in and feel a stronger connection to a sense of place and become better stewards when they visit.”