By Kiera Morgan

The Lincoln City city council received a report from Ed Dreistadt director of the Lincoln City Visitor and Convention Bureau on tourism in the city. He said they conducted some surveys to try to find out why people are coming to Lincoln City and what they can do to improve. He said they worked with the lodging industry and conducted a zip code survey to see where the people who are staying in Lincoln City are coming from. They also did some focus groups.

They asked 24 different questions about the city. He explained some of the positive feedback they got. “We’re that relaxing vacation. We are also a place where you discover treasures.” “That I think is an echo of the float program that we do but also the idea that you can find agates on the beach and go beach combing.” Off the beach Dreistadt said visitors find wonderful places in Lincoln City they won’t find anywhere else.

He said there are great little restaurants, plus the shops and antique stores. It was also mentioned that Lincoln city is a great place for outdoor adventures with the 7-miles of beaches and the hiking trails and open spaces. Some of the things brought up that would make Lincoln City better included having a walking district, or a beach boardwalk. It was also brought up that visitors would like more places to ride bikes or rent large wheel bikes to ride on the beach.

Heavy traffic was brought up as a negative. Visitors were also unaware of the culinary center and Devils Lake. It was also pointed out that a lot of when people come or don’t can be seasonal depending on what is going on elsewhere such as state fair or how hot it is in the valley. Ed said they will be looking at the data and coming up with a more definitive marketing plan.