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BLOUNT

New tourism director sees vibrant Tacoma

By Meghan Erkkinen

One might call Tammy Blount Tacoma’s newest cheerleader, or its biggest fan. Blount’s newest job as executive director of the Tacoma Regional Convention and Visitor Bureau (CVB) means she has to be a little bit of both.

Blount, a Vancouver, B.C., native, returned to the Pacific Northwest about a year ago after spending six years in Texas. The main goal of the CVB is to put heads in Tacoma’s hotel beds, and that requires a strong advocate to encourage visitors to come to the area.

“I’m thrilled to be a part of Tacoma now that there’s been such a great renaissance here,” Blount said. She looks forward to “growing a community, making it vibrant and being part of it not only as it develops (economically) but as the culture develops too.”

Blount took the position about two months ago, after working for Tourism Vancouver, the Canadian city’s convention and visitors’ bureau, for 11 years, and in related industries in Texas.

“I really appreciate the opportunity to be a part of growing a community,” she said. “It’s been a great experience so far. We’ve got a wonderful board of directors who really want to be involved in the growth of tourism in Pierce County.”

Some of Tacoma’s biggest assets, according to Blount, are its museum district, Point Defiance, hotels like the Murano and the development of the waterfront. She also said this summer’s Tall Ships festival would be a big draw. But more than anything else, Blount said the region’s greatest asset is “the community at large.”

For many visitors, Tacoma’s outstanding restaurants, great historical sites, and great parks and outdoor activities are also big draws, Blount added.

The city’s planned developments will also draw visitors to the region.

“I only see [development] growing and getting stronger,” Blount said.

She said she has spent the first several weeks in her position acclimating to the region.

The biggest challenge to the CVB, according to Blount, is the limited resources. The CVB employs only seven people – and two of those people are part time.

“We look for more product development as time goes on, but really the resources are going to be the biggest challenges,” Blount said.

The purpose of the CVB is to promote tourism in the region, and Blount and her team do that in a variety of ways. The CVB works with meeting planners to help them arrange their events, as well as pre- and post-conference activities; it works with tour operators to build itineraries that include Tacoma and Pierce County; and it works with visitors, both through its website and its visitor’s center, to encourage them to stay for longer or to come again.

The CVB also publishes a visitor’s guide that is distributed throughout the county. Blount said the CVB will continue to develop its long-term plans.

“Over the coming months we will be working on developing and fine tuning a long-term strategic business plan and looking to enhance our reach and effectiveness,” she said. “We welcome participation from the community in that and look forward to maximizing the opportunity that’s coming to the region.”

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