YACHATS – The Oregon Tourism Commission, a nine-member board that oversees the budget of Travel Oregon, is holding its last scheduled meeting of 2025 Thursday and Friday, Sept. 11-12, in Yachats.
The commission’s meetings are scheduled from 2:30-4:30 p.m. Thursday and then 9 a.m. to noon Friday in the multipurpose room of the Yachats Commons.
Among other topics, the commission’s agenda says it will be getting financial updates, a look back at its 2023-25 promotional plan, an update on its Wheels the World accessibility program, and collaboration with tribal governments and LGBTQ organizations.
The commission will also get an update on the search for a leader after executive director Todd Davidson announced in May he would retire by the end of the year. He has been its director since 1996, but has drawn scrutiny for his $341,817 salary and a total compensation package of $477,000 a year, which is far higher than that of any other state agency director.
Travel Oregon is a semi-independent state agency with 73 staffers and funded by a statewide lodging tax of 1.5 percent on lodging that brings in more than $40 million a year. It exists to promote tourism, which generates $14 billion of annual economic activity and 120,000 jobs in Oregon.
