The San Juan Islands Visitors Bureau generates travel demand that drives economic impact for the Islands. Through Destination Marketing and Management, we focus on promoting shoulder season travel to the Islands, working with media to tell meaningful Island stories, and using targeted marketing strategies to attract mindful travelers. We also offer Visitor Services which include communicating with potential visitors via our website, phone, and email and mailing travel brochures for trip planning. Thirdly, we serve as an advocate for Stewardship and Education by integrating stewardship and Leave No Trace principles into our messaging and addressing local policies that impact tourism, resident quality of life, and our environment. And finally, we offer Member Marketing Support by offering marketing services to approximately 250 local business and non-profits, and connecting them with resources including media leads, marketing tips, green business information, and more.
Founded in 1999 as the Business Association of San Juan County, the San Juan Islands Visitors Bureau is a private, non-profit, Destination Marketing & Management Organization (DMMO). We've been the official DMMO for the San Juan Islands since 2003, contracting with both San Juan County and the town of Friday Harbor. We partner with the Lopez, Orcas and San Juan Island Chambers of Commerce which provide visitor information services at their locations, in addition to their important Chamber work. We are primarily funded by local lodging taxes (paid by visitors) and receive additional revenues from our member/partner dues and website advertising.
Tourism is a top economic driver for San Juan County. Visitors “import” new dollars, which benefit small businesses and residents as these dollars circulate throughout our island communities. Tourism creates business opportunities and jobs, off-sets Islanders’ tax burdens when visitors pay local sales tax, and “subsidizes” a variety of restaurants and retailers. Tourism also helps support and sustain many community assets such as parks, farmers markets, museums, community theatres, artist co-ops, wineries, festivals, and so much more.
In 2019, visitors to the San Juan Islands spent $236.2 million, producing $2.2 million in state and local tax revenue. Tourism that year generated $3,005 in state and local taxes for every household in the county. In 2019, the travel industry directly supported over 1,662 jobs in San Juan County and generated $63.7 million in job and business owner earnings. This data is courtesy of Tourism Economics.
Tourism, when managed responsibly, is a key economic development strategy for small towns and counties, as well as large cities and countries. However, in the last 5-10 years, many destinations around the world, including the San Juans, have been experiencing some of the negative effects of tourism and are afraid of being “loved to death.”
The Visitors Bureau's approach to destination management uses four pillars to guide our marketing and messaging. We know that our quality of life and economy depend on our beautiful environment. The four pillars focus on striking a balance between growing a vibrant economy, enhancing resident quality of life, protecting our fragile lands and waters, and creating memorable visitor experiences. We believe supporting these four pillars is key to helping the Islands move forward responsibly into the future.
Our website hosts videos, blogs, informative pages, checklists, and more, that detail how visitors can be good stewards of the Islands while they visit. The "Love It Like A Local" landing page helps visitors understand why the San Juans are so precious and need to be preserved for future generations.
In 2014, the SJIVB board and staff began holding tourism management brainstorming meetings, which included County and Town officials. A few years later we determined the need to hire a consultant for such a large plan, so we applied for a lodging tax grant in 2019. In the meantime, the Terrestrial Managers Group — noting capacity and other challenges in parks and public lands — applied for lodging tax grants for 2017-2019 visitor, resident, and business surveys. The SJIVB grant application was approved to begin in 2020, but due to COVID the process was delayed. It finally moved forward in 2021, thanks to the County's Department of Environmental Stewardship. COVID gave the San Juan Islands, and many destinations around the world, the opportunity to “build back better” and we look forward to seeing the Tourism Management Plan process underway in 2022.
The San Juan Islands Visitors Bureau is a promoter and steward of this evolving county and its progressive values, which have the power to transform the travelers who visit us. Learn about the history of tourism in the San Juan Islands with these History Link essays.
Our mission is "To enhance the economic prosperity of San Juan County by promoting the San Juan Islands as a preferred, year-round travel destination, while respecting and sustaining the Islands' unique and diverse ecosystems, environments, lifestyles, and cultures."
Our goals are:
1. To help strengthen San Juan County’s year-round economy.
2. To foster an appreciation of San Juan County’s maritime and rural ways of life, as well as its history, arts and culture.
3. To communicate San Juan County’s environmental stewardship messages to visitors.
4. To enhance visitors’ travel experiences countywide.
The visitors bureau staff is a group of marketing and communications professionals who work diligently to educate potential visitors, support member businesses and non-profits, and develop mindful messaging. Staff regularly attend conferences, trainings, and other continuing education opportunities to stay up to date with changing technology, best practices, and travel trends. With a combined 40+ years in the San Juans, the staff are active community members and are dedicated to the health and wellness of these islands.
Executive Director, deborah@visitsanjuans.com
Deborah and her family vacationed on Orcas Island for several summers before making San Juan Island their home in 2001. Her first island position was as marketing manager for Roche Harbor Resort, which she represented on the board of the volunteer-run Business Assn. of San Juan County dba San Juan Islands Visitors Bureau (SJIVB). She feels fortunate to have been hired as the SJIVB’s first Director in 2003. She focuses her time on marketing campaigns and special projects such as the Scenic Byway and serving on the County’s Sustainable Tourism Management Plan Committee. With a dual major in communications/business from Linfield University in Oregon, she previously worked for the Portland Rose Festival Assn., American Red Cross, and Oregon Medical Assn. before discovering her interest in destination marketing and management in positions with the Washington County Visitors Assn. and Travel Portland. When not working, Deborah enjoys spending time with her daughters, as well as gardening and traveling.
Communications and Stewardship Manager, amy@visitsanjuans.com
Amy Nesler first fell in love with the San Juans when she joined the Outdoor Environmental Education program at Orcas Island’s Camp Orkila in 2011 as an instructor. Originally from Colorado, she went back to earn a Master’s degree in sustainable tourism before moving to Friday Harbor in 2016 to join the staff at the Visitors Bureau. Her focus is destination stewardship and collaborating with different partners to communicate various tenets of responsible tourism to locals and visitors through engaging and humorous storytelling. An aspiring naturalist and self-professed ‘dorca,’ Amy can often be found in her off time volunteering out at Lime Kiln Point State Park, waiting for whales. Otherwise, she thinks of herself as a cross between Hermione Granger and Katniss Everdeen – a dedicated bibliophile with a talent for archery.
Visitor and Member Services Manager, info@visitsanjuans.com
Annesa has worked in the hospitality industry since 1998. She came out to the San Juans in 2007 for a seasonal job at Rosario, but fell in love with the Islands and decided to stay. She is especially fond of the magical Moran State Park. She has worked for a few resorts throughout the Islands and loves learning new things about her adopted home on a daily basis. Annesa enjoys sharing this home with visitors, while helping them understand what makes it so special and why it needs to be protected. When not at work, Annesa can be found performing at the San Juan Community Theatre and enjoys swimming, baking, and crocheting.
