LT-2019-028-Kittitas Co. Search and Rescue

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Response 2.1: 1. Away fromtheir place of residence or business and staying overnight in paid accommdations; Projection* The Conference will be hosted in Kittitas County and is designed, intended, and proven to draw volunteers in from all over Washington State and at an international level. The money received will be used to offset the cost of using the Event Center, Mich is a primary reason why we are able to host the conference here on an annual basis. In the 50 years of Conference, there have been consistent annual attendees from at least Oregon, Idaho, Canada, New Zealand and Iceland to name a few. SAR volunteers and their families are by nature outdoor enthusiasts and are naturally interested in what Kittitas County has to offer. That interest requires staying in our hotels, eating at our restaurants, shopping at our stores, and filling their gas tanks here. The volunteers frequently bring friends and family that recreate and enjoy the area while the volunteer is attending the conference, and that enjoyment continues after conference hours and before and after the conference starts. It also puts Kittitas County "on the map" by word of mouth and shows how easy it is to get here and enjoy what Kittitas County has to offer. The Conference hosts some camping available on the Event Center lot (for the fees paid directly to the event center), however the majority of instructors and attendees stay at hotels or RV camp grounds with full hookups available. 2500 character limit Response 2.1; The WA State Search and Rescue Advisory Council provided approximate cost Evidence * projections for the money that was spent within Kittitas County during the 2013 and 2018 Conference. It is our intent to expand and clarify on these projections through additional questions and figures added into the participant survey submitted by all attendees at the conclusion of the conference. Note: Tourism expenditure averages based 400 attendees based on the 2018 Conference attendance. They used an average of 3 nights in a hotel, 4 days of meal costs, and misc. costs such as groceries, snacks, coffee, water, and an average of two tanks of fuel during their stay. Hotel, Motel: $187 average X270x3 nights = $151,470 Camping: $52 average X100x3 nights = $ 15,600 Total spending introduced into Ellensburg and Kittitas County = $167,070 (Rates from Kittitas County WA Tourism Alliance Dean Runyan & Associates study published May 2018 page 95) 2500 character lirrit Response 2.2: 2.To a place fifty miles or rrore away fromtheir place of residence or business for the day or staying overnight; Projection * The WA State SAR Conference has been hosted within Washington State for the last 50 years. It has only been to Kittitas County in 2013 and 2018 so far, but there have been consistent annual attendees from at least Oregon, Idaho, Canada, and Iceland just to name a few. The majority of participants come from western Washington, with an approximate estimation of only 20-30 attendees attending from the local area or within a daily driving distance (Yakima County). 2500 character lirrit