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QuickTake:
Every year, Lane County puts a share of its lodging tax revenues toward rural tourism. Small communities across the county will get money to spruce up attractions and promote special events.
Rural communities across Lane County lure visitors, advertise sand dunes and other scenery and promote big events. They stretch from the coast to Junction City to the McKenzie River area.
Those communities rely on Lane County’s rural tourism marketing program, which funds the work of drawing visitors by using a lodging tax levied on hotel, motel and campground stays in the area.
At their meeting Tuesday, Feb. 10, county commissioners unanimously approved the county’s 2026 allocation of $553,172 in rural tourism funding. The decision will help keep Lane County’s rural communities actively engaged in the tourism industry, including small communities that would otherwise lack the means to promote and host events.
During a presentation about the 2026 allocations, commissioners got a quick reminder from county staff: Lane County is a fun place. None of the commissioners disagreed, although at least one is more inclined to chill out on a porch instead of bouncing across the sandy coast in a dune buggy.
“I like to think of this as the fun money that gets distributed,” Samantha Roberts, a community and economic development analyst, told commissioners.
And the fun money will keep flowing to every corner of Lane County.
Under the county’s transient lodging tax plan, 10% of the revenue goes to tourism and marketing in areas outside Eugene and Springfield.
The recipients are the cities of Coburg, Cottage Grove, Creswell, Dunes City, Florence, Junction City, Lowell, Oakridge, Veneta and Westfir, as well as the McKenzie River area. The McKenzie River area is unincorporated, so that region’s share goes to the McKenzie River Chamber of Commerce.
The recipients get the flexibility to use the funding on tourism projects based on local needs and interests. The funding, based on visitor data in communities, ranges from $17,621 for Lowell to $237,519 for Florence. (See below for a full list of recipients.)
It’s a significant amount for communities with meager budgets.
“This is a really, really fun program for communities,” Roberts said, adding the recipients have limited discretionary funds.
The uses are different from place to place. Junction City spends the money to help promote its signature Scandinavian Festival. Coburg and Cottage Grove put theirs toward Main Street events. The funding also helps with improvements in business districts. Other towns focus on marketing for outdoor recreation and overnight stays.
Board of Commissioners Chair Ryan Ceniga, whose district includes Junction City, said that for “any small community, those dollars go a long ways” in promoting events like the Scandinavian Festival.
The presentation from county staff included photos of an airborne dune buggy and people relaxing on a cabin porch.
“I’m just more a sit on the porch with the book and coffee than the dune buggy person, so thanks for having both of those,” Commissioner Laurie Trieger said.
Ceniga added: “Oftentimes one’s needed after the other.”
Activities aside, Commissioner Pat Farr said the dollars help leverage other money for communities — and agreed with the staff’s assessment of the program.
“It really is fun money,” he said.
Here are the recipients and amounts:
- Coburg, $33,543
- Cottage Grove, $52,061
- Creswell, $32,708
- Dunes City, $30,925
- Florence, $237,519
- Junction City, $24,915
- Lowell, $17,621
- Oakridge, $29,066
- Veneta, $17,943
- Westfir, $22,618
- McKenzie River area, $54,252