By CHERYL ROMANO/YachatsNews.com
Yachats runs on tourism. And community spirit. And natural beauty. And spouting whales and mossy trails and casual dining and funky shops.
So if it was up to you to “sell” the town, how would you tackle the job?
James Kerti knows that the goal of promoting the varied facets of Yachats is “getting clear on what our goals are here, what we want to accomplish.” That’s why he spends hours and hours talking … with tourists, with residents, with business owners, trying to pin down exactly “What do we want Yachats to be long-term?”
As the city’s official marketing consultant — and marketing manager of the Yachats Visitor Center — Kerti has a fine line to walk.
“We’re always going to have people here who have unfavorable takes on tourism, and I get that,” he said in an interview with YachatsNews. “For the rest of us, it’s about finding ways to bring people here safely while maintaining the community feel and spirit that we have.”
Until this spring when pandemic restrictions eased, Kerti was pretty much stuck in a small office in the Commons, by himself, largely working on developing Yachats’ presence online. That period produced a new website, “Discover Yachats”, a Facebook page under the same theme, an Instagram page, and ads in publications like Oregon Coast Today and Here and Now.
Working the visitor center, trails and streets
Kerti served on the City Council for a year before resigning in frustration in January 2020, saying he wanted to find other ways to help the city. He has a background in sports marketing, website and business development and a year ago was awarded a two-year contract to run the city’s visitor center.
The Yachats Chamber of Commerce had held the contract for more than 20 years, but came in second to Kerti in a ranking of operation proposals. The City Council approved the change – and bruised some feelings around town – but said the center and marketing needed a new approach and plans.
But that led to a split between the city and the chamber that was only repaired in May, when Kerti and the chamber resumed working together out of the chamber office and visitor center in the C&K Plaza.
Kerti is now subcontracting with the chamber, to “perform visitor center duties in the visitor center.” For the chamber that includes managing volunteers, answering questions from tourists in person and on the phone. Kerti keeps the center stocked with maps and brochures and otherwise works out of his home office and on the streets and trails of the city.
“One of the reasons I signed up for this is I liked the idea of spending time interacting with people who are here on vacation, having what may be the best week of their year,” he said. These days, if he isn’t talking with people at the center or downtown, he’s talking with them on one of the city’s many popular hiking and walking trails.
“There’s a very particular kind of person who stops by a visitor center — that’s only a small portion of the people who are interested in Yachats,” he said. “The people I stop and chat with for 30 minutes on the Amanda Trail are very different; they tend to be more self-directed and independent.”
Another chunk of Kerti’s job is communicating with the businesses in town.
“We’re all trying to stay in the loop of what’s happening in the outside world. If I’m talking with businesses and hotels about who’s coming in and what they want, it’s a great way to gather information. That’s not something that’s happened a lot in the past.”
Marc Taylor for one, owner of Styx, Stones ‘n Bones, appreciates that information flow.
“It’s pretty fantastic that he’s willing to go around to all of the businesses in town, to help us feel that our opinions and our concerns matter.” Calling Kerti’s work “important and valuable,” Taylor credits the marketing pro with helping to increase business.
Doesn’t Yachats sell itself?
Still, that credit hasn’t been universally given, and the usefulness of marketing has been questioned by some, including Mayor Leslie Vaaler during city budget hearings this spring.
The visitor center contract is for $65,000 a year, intended to pay Kerti for his time and some expenses. Last year the city also set aside $30,000 for additional marketing that Kerti can tap and $20,000 to contract with an additional person and other operating costs.
During budget deliberations this spring, Vaaler argued the city didn’t need additional marketing money, and voted against any spending beyond Kerti’s contract. Two other budget committee members pushed back, saying the bulk of the city’s operating revenue and spending on amenities comes from lodging taxes and the small expense was well worth the $1.3 million expected in revenue this fiscal year.
Kerti suggested a compromise, trimming the $30,000 marketing amount to $22,000 and the $20,000 amount to $17,000.
The city budget calls for spending just $242,000 of its visitor amenity funds this year, leaving almost $1.1 million in reserve for future projects.
Some critics of tourism marketing often express their view as a simple question: Doesn’t Yachats sell itself?
To that, Kerti replies, ”If you don’t stay in charge of telling your own story, you’re leaving it up to everyone else, and everyone will tell their own story. The best stories, the most memorable ones, are when everyone’s on the same page.”
He defined marketing as “telling people what we’re all about and why they should care. That can encompass everything from a website to word-of-mouth.” His driving focus is “Consistency of messaging, because messaging without consistency is just noise.”
While Kerti would like to concentrate on long-term marketing plans, coming out of the coronavirus pandemic makes it “hard to look too far ahead right now.”
“Nobody wants to spend a bunch of time and money investing in long-term plans, because those plans might have to be abandoned,” he said.
Most local summer events are cancelled, so Kerti is now looking to the fall and winter and “… what might be possible in terms of cross-promotion among business and community groups.”
Yachats doesn’t need more tourists in the summer. Before the pandemic brought most activities to a halt, the City Council’s admonition was to bolster “shoulder season” travel in the spring and fall.
“This place has a special sense of community, and it’s a breath of fresh air” for all who live and visit here, Kerti says. “Everybody is coming here for some kind of feeling that they need. I’d be willing to say you’re not gong to find this feeling somewhere else.”
- Cheryl Romano is a Yachats freelance reporter who contributes regularly to YachatsNews.com. She can be reached at Wordsell@gmail.com