Angie Onyewuchi, president of Travel Salem, shares numbers showing increasing tourism in the capital city. She addressed a crowd at the Kroc Center on Thursday, Nov. 21. (Mary Louise VanNatta/Special to Salem Reporter)
Travel Salem’s visitor center is temporarily moving to the lobby of The Grand Hotel as the tourism group moves into a new location in downtown Salem.
The nonprofit bought the former Chase Bank building at 630 Center St. N.E. and hope to move into it in May or June following renovations.
The temporary visitor center will be staffed and open Monday through Friday 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. at 201 Liberty St. SE.
“The new location will provide a spacious Visitor Center and exhibit space; the old bank teller window will be used for drive-thru visitor assistance; and rotating videos of the region will be showcased in the designated theater area,” a news release about the move said.
The nonprofit plans to rent out a portion of the 19,000 square foot building as office space for businesses and organizations. Nonprofits will also be able to reserve a meeting room.
Angie Onyewuchi, CEO of Travel Salem, said once the mortgage is paid off the nonprofit will invest that money into programs that drive tourism.
“Travel Salem has been renting office space since our inception in 1984, housed in beautiful and iconic locations such as Willamette Heritage Center, the historic Grand Theatre, and the Capitol Tower in the heart of downtown. With the new headquarters building, the board of directors has taken a visionary step to invest in the future of the organization and to innovatively deliver our mission to create positive impact for the communities we serve,” she said in a prepared statement.
Jake Bryant, Travel Salem’s board chair, said the building purchase reflects the growth of local tourism, noting last summer’s IRONMAN competition.
“Tourism is one of the state’s largest industries, and visitors to the region generate $638 million per year, pre-COVID, and support 7,000 jobs. Travel Salem’s marketing efforts keep our destination top-of-mind with consumers and continue to drive leisure, group, and sports business to the region,” he said in a statement.
-Saphara Harrell
