The two regional non-profit organizations are charged with destination tourism promotion and economic development, and will be co-locating office space in a move planned for the end of the year to Mill Point,
Economic Development for Central Oregon (EDCO) and The Central Oregon Visitors Association (COVA) will continue independent operations, but will share common area space, conference room and reception areas. At the new Mill Point, COVA will also operate the
“This is a welcome and fiscally responsible opportunity for both COVA and EDCO,” stated Alana Hughson, CEO of the Central Oregon Visitors Association. “With an estimated 80 percent of new businesses initiated by people who first discovered the region on vacation, there has long existed a natural synergy between the mission of COVA, to attract destination visitation to Central Oregon, and the mission of EDCO, to invite and facilitate new business development in
“Both COVA and EDCO share a resolve to maximize the resources we can dedicate to programs and minimize overhead,” said Roger Lee, Executive Director of EDCO. “The ability to optimize savings with operations efficiencies makes good business sense for both our organizations.”
COVA, EDCO and the former Bend Chamber/VCB have a history of shared office space. For more than a dozen years the organizations were collectively housed in the former
In an effort to retain a cost-effective visitor information presence in the Old Mill retail area, COVA is coordinating with the Old Mill on a satellite visitor information kiosk in the Old Mill center plaza.
COVA has been the non-profit tourism Destination Marketing Association serving
EDCO is a private non-profit corporation founded over 30 years ago and dedicated to building a vibrant and thriving regional economy by attracting new investment and traded sector jobs (manufacturing, professional, headquarters and high technology businesses) through marketing, recruitment and substantive assistance to existing companies. Learn more about EDCO at www.edcoinfo.com.
