UPDATED July 14, 2009

The Greater Goldendale Area Chamber of Commerce is activley seeking opportunities for economic development in the area. These activies include promotion of the City of Goldendale's Industrial Park, Tourism Promotion, Entrepreneur Assistance, and more. The Economic Development Committee is made up of participants from the Chamber of Commerce, the City of Goldendale, and Klickitat County. Meetings are held at 6:00 p.m. at the Goldendale City Hall Council Chambers on the second Tuesday of every month. We welcome new participants and suggestions. If you would like more information about the Economic Development Committee, please email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call 509-773-3400.

2009 Priorities and Goals:

1) Support of the Wind Farm & Related Industries

2) Beautification of Goldendale

3) Entrepreneur Programs & Support, Incubator Building

4) Support of Tourism & Wine Industries, Wine Tasting Room

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Tourism is an active part of Economic Development. The Chamber of Commerce works with the City of Goldendale and Klickitat County to provide a Visitor Information Center in Goldendale. The Visitor Information Center is located at 903 East Broadway in Goldendale. Summer hours are Monday - Frinday, 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. and Saturday,  9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.  

The Greater Goldendale Area Chamber of Commerce is actively promoting the Goldendale region to help attract visitors to the area. The target market of visitors includes highway passing travelers, planned/event visitors, and area tourist visitors. The following information outlines the Chamber’s efforts and plans for expansion of their programs.

MARKETING & PUBLICATIONS

     The marketing of our community requires specific tools, which include brochure printing and distribution, advertising in tourism guides, media outreach, and creating an inviting ambiance for our community.

     The Chamber currently utilizes various types of publications including the Columbia Gorge Magazine, the Gorge Guide, and the Klickitat County Visitor’s Guide (please see sample brochure at the back of the folder). These publications are distributed throughout target regions including Seattle, Portland, and the tri-cities areas. In addition the Chamber is working to put together a magazine publication that will feature the Goldendale region with a focus on tourism. This magazine is scheduled for final publication and distribution in early 2009. The Chamber also provides a monthly newsletter that showcases businesses and organizations in the community as well as events and attractions. This publication is distributed via email, on the website, and by mail. People that are interested in subscribing to the newsletter can do so by email or online. Current distribution is at 300 and a rise in readership is expected throughout 2009.

     During 2008, the Chamber worked with the Klickitat County Tourism Advisory Board and the Klickitat County Economic Development Department to complete a County map and guide as well as a Wine map featuring all the wineries of Klickitat County. These publications are available at the Chamber office and are premier publications in the Visitor Information Packets.

VISITOR SERVICES

    The Chamber Office is available to visitors and the community throughout the week. It is open from 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. from October – April. During May – September the Chamber Office is also open on Saturday from 9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. Volunteers staff the Chamber and are trained to assist visitors that phone with questions or arrive in person.

    Hundreds of printed materials are available for visitors at no cost. These materials include maps, brochures, guides, calendars, and newsletters. These materials are not limited to Chamber Members’ materials, but are open to any tourism-related business in Klickitat County. As part of its tourism promotion, the Chamber provides Visitor Information Packets at no cost. They can be requested via email, phone, or in person. During 2008 over 350 information packets were distributed throughout the United States.

    The Chamber maintains a 24 hour kiosk with information about the Goldendale area as well as highlights throughout Klickitat County. It is updated throughout the year so as to feature various events in the area. This project is possible through a partnership of the Chamber and the Klickitat County Economic Development Department.

FESTIVALS & EVENTS

     The Chamber has two events that it presents on an annual basis. The first event is the 13+ Miles of Yard Sales. The Chamber works with the cities and communities in Klickitat County to help organize and promote this event. 2009 will make the 7th year that this event has run with people traveling from as far as Seattle and Spokane to attend. The second event that the Chamber hosts is a locally focused event, Goldendale Community Days. This event is promoted outside of the community and gets major support from those that are returning to the community for reunions. It has a more specialized draw of people, but has been a successful and well attended event. This year the Chamber partnered with other organizations in the community to enhance the offerings of this event. These organizations included the Goldendale Jaycees, Goldendale Motorsports Association, Golden Art Gallery, and other community leaders.

     During the year of 2009, the Chamber will be premiering two new events. The first event will be the annual Goldendale Regional Home & Garden Show on April 18 and 19. This event will feature local and regional businesses that are related to the home or garden industries. The second event will be the Goldendale Energy Exposition. This event will be June 27 and 28, and will feature renewable energy related industries from the bi-state, five-county energy overlay zone. Both of these events were suggestions from the community and they are expected to become signature events for the City of Goldendale.

     The Chamber also works to support and promote other events in the Community. Throughout the year, the Chamber publishes and distributes a Calendar of Events. The events list is also submitted to various publications. This information is also shared with other Chambers in Washington and throughout the Columbia Gorge area to promote regional tourism. The Chamber lists event details on the electronic reader board located on Main St. and Columbus in downtown Goldendale and on the website calendar of events.

MARKETING & PUBLICATIONS

    Long range marketing goals include increasing the time that tourists stay in Goldendale from 1 day to 3-4 days with an emphasis on promoting Goldendale as the “perfect weekend-getaway.” The Chamber will work to promote Goldendale as an attraction with features rather than a place with attractions. In order to accomplish this goal, the Chamber will seek active partners for distributing its materials including the 90 Chambers of Commerce in Washington, as well as the Chambers in Oregon and Idaho. Furthermore the Chamber will have specific marketing efforts in the Seattle, Portland, Spokane, Tri-cities, and Yakima areas.

    Goldendale currently has one tri-fold brochure that highlights some features of the area. This publication was last printed in 1991 and needs to be updated. The Chamber would like to reprint and expand this brochure to provide a more useful resource for visitors. This would include a map of the city, listings of tourist related businesses, and updated highlights about the area. The focus would be on Goldendale as a premier destination to enjoy art, wine, wind, and stars. A secondary emphasis would be given to promote the eco-friendly industries in the area including the wind farms to set the stage for Goldendale to become better known as a showcase for renewable energy.

    Another publication that receives widespread attention is the Historic Homes Driving Tour Guide. This publication features our historical homes and is also in need of an updated printing. The Chamber would like to partner with the Klickitat County Historical society to provide a rich accounting of some of Goldendale’s heritage. This would include expanding the historic homes tour to include business locations and Main Street history as well.

    The Greater Goldendale Area Chamber of Commerce recognizes the impact of a strong website presence. With the trend for travel shifting towards last minute booking, the Chamber would like to make its resources more readily available by providing them for download online. Also, with so many requests for information coming via email, the Chamber is planning to put together a digital Visitors Information Packet that can answer tourist questions in a timely manner.


VISITOR SERVICES

     The Chamber is constantly seeking ways of improving its connection with the visitors to the Goldendale area. In 2009 the Chamber will begin a satellite resource program. The Chamber will seek out heavily trafficked tourist areas and offer to provide materials for visitors at no charge to the participating business/locations. The Chamber will be responsible for keeping the resources stocked. Examples of locations would include the Goldendale Regional Library, restaurants, hotels/motels, gas stations, etc.

     Another key element to enticing visitors to stay is signage. Currently the Chamber is working with the Klickitat County Tourism Advisory Board to work on this issue throughout the county. The Chamber Economic Development Committee is also interested in improving the signage in the Goldendale area. The Chamber will seek out partnerships with the Washington State Department of Transportation, the City of Goldendale, and community leaders to work together to improve the signage in and around Goldendale.

    The Chamber has reviewed the Goldendale Tourism Strategic Plan from 2004 and is interested in pursuing the idea of a sculpture garden by partnering with the Maryhill Museum. On October 22, 2008 the Chamber spoke with museum officials and they expressed that there is still high interest in this type of project. Ideas would include sculptures from recycled items such as farm machinery or retired wind farm parts. Another project that has recently gained momentum is interest in a Goldendale Wine Tasting Room featuring wines from throughout Klickitat County. Several wineries have expressed interest in having their wines represented in Goldendale and the Chamber is actively pursuing this opportunity through the Economic Development Committee.

FESTIVALS & EVENTS

Providing infrastructure to support visitors is a key element for successful tourism. The Chamber is preparing to produce a Tourism Projection Report. This publication will be provided to owners and managers of businesses that are impacted by tourism. It will include a list of the upcoming events for the year as well as projections on how many people attend those events. Examples would be regional sports events, the Klickitat County Fair, the Festival of Wheels, etc. The purpose of this publication would be to provide a planning resource for the businesses and organizations that they may be better prepared to serve the needs of the incoming visitors.

Another project the Chamber is starting is a volunteer database. This will be a community resource where people can sign up to volunteer for events they are interested in and capable of assisting. The Chamber will then connect those individuals to the organizations and events that they are interested in. This would provide a community based infrastructure to support the events and activities of the community.