2018 Oregon Travel & Tourism Awards Announced

Eugene, OR -  More than 600 attendees were in Eugene for the 2019 Oregon Governor's Conference on Tourism April 14-16. A highlight of the conference included the announcement of the 2018 Travel & Tourism Awards, which was extra special this year as one of our own was recognized for her exemplary work. 

Meg TrendlerMeg Trendler, Travel Lane County's Tourism Sales Manager, was the recipient of the Oregon Tourism International Sales & Development Award. This award recognizes excellence in the creative sales, marketing and development of Oregon as a destination in the international marketplace. 

Ms. Trendler has been with Travel Lane County for more than 15 years. Her primary responsibility involves working with tour operators, both domestic and international, to create travel demand for the Eugene, Cascades & Coast region. Meg accomplishes her work through sales calls, trade shows, developing itineraries, hosting tours and training events and actively partnering with Travel Oregon and other industry partners.  

Petra Hackworth, Vice President of Global Sales for Travel Oregon noted, “She has been a true asset to team Oregon, helping to bring business together to create FAM (familiarization) tours and itineraries that exceed expectations of all international media and tour operators making sure they can better sell Oregon to audiences and clients.”

Congratulations Meg!

International travel is big business. See what US Travel reported for 2018:

  • In 2018, U.S. Travel Exports (includes general travel spending, international passenger fares, as well as international traveler spending on medical, educational and cross‐ border/seasonal work‐related activities) totaled $256 billion. International Travel Imports totaled $186 billion, creating a $69 billion travel trade surplus.
  • International arrivals to the U.S. totaled approximately 80 million in 2018, about half of whom came from overseas.
  • The United States’ share of total international arrivals is 5.6% (down from 6.4% in 2015).
  • The United States’ share of global long‐haul travel is 11.7% (down from 13.7% in 2015).
  • International travel spending directly supported about 1.2 million U.S. jobs and $33.4 billion in wages.
  • Each overseas traveler spends approximately $4,200 when they visit the U.S. and stays on average 18 nights.
  • Overseas arrivals represent about half of all international arrivals, yet account for 84% of total international travel spending.
  • Top leisure travel activities for overseas visitors: (1) shopping; (2) sightseeing; (3) fine dining; (4) national parks/monuments; and (5) amusement/theme parks.