Page 61 - Clackamas County Watertourism Strategic Plan. Final.v3

STRATEGIC PLAN FOR WATER-BASED TOURISM IN CLACKAMAS COUNTY, OREGON THE PEOPLE
4-19

upper bound number. The true number overnight stays generated by water-based tourism in Clackamas County is likely between 5% and 10%. The entire water-based tourism
market in Oregon is generating 12 million overnight stays per year while Clackamas County is capturing only about 2% of that total.

Why are water enthusiasts visiting Clackamas County water less than other rivers in Oregon? When respondents were asked if the quality of the water bodies in Clackamas County
were better or worse than the rest of Oregon only 10% said it was lower quality. Approximately 50% thought the waters in Clackamas County were about the same or even better
than the rest of Oregon’s. So, it is difficult to place the reason for low visitation on a poor-quality recreation experience.

Visitation to Deschutes vs Clackamas Rivers Quality of the Experience

12.5% 44%

27%

7.1% 13%
5.5% 6% 10%
3.6%
3.1% ABOUT THE SAME HIGHER QUALITY LOWER QUALITY NONE OF THE NONE OF THE
0.5% AS THE OTHER THAN THE OTHER THAN THE OTHER ABOVE BECAUSE I ABOVE FOR
WATER BODIES WATER BODIES WATER BODIES DON’T VISIT ANOTHER REASON
FREQUENT VISITATION INFREQUENT VISITATION TOTAL VISITATION THAT I VISIT IN THAT I VISIT IN THAT I VISIT IN WATER BODIES IN
THE OREGON THE OREGON THE OREGON CLACKAMAS
Total Market Clackamas Total Market Deschutes
COUNTY

“…Multnomah County residents are more likely than Clackamas
County residents, and the state as a whole, to choose the
Clackamas River as their most frequently visited waterbody… [this]
provides more supporting evidence that the quality of the
recreation experience is not preventing the potential market from

visiting Clackamas County…”