PF boosting tourism promotions
POST FALLS – Post Falls may never have the tourist cachet of Coeur d’Alene, but local leaders and businesses are doing their best to attract visitors and their dollars to the River City.
The Post Falls Chamber of Commerce is purchasing advertising touting itself as a driving trip destination in an Idaho tourism publication that will be distributed in newspapers throughout the Northwest. The group also will soon be opening a visitors’ center near Cabela’s. Meanwhile, Post Falls hotels market themselves as a less-expensive and more family-friendly alternative to staying in Coeur d’Alene.
Information on tourism’s economic impact in Post Falls is unavailable, but in 2004 the average Kootenai County visitor spent $287.60, contributing to almost $174 million in tourism spending, according to a study commissioned by the Idaho Division of Tourism Development.
Post Falls has its share of tourist destinations and activities, including parks, Cabela’s, Stateline Speedway, Greyhound Event Center, riverboat rides on the Spokane River and Buck Knives.
“There’s definitely attractions on its own in Post Falls,” said Carrie Cook, who heads up the chamber’s tourism committee.
The city will soon better promote itself with a revamped visitors Web site, Cook said, adding that the target visitor is someone a day’s drive away, living in someplace like the Tri-Cities or Seattle.
And Post Falls is conveniently located near Coeur d’Alene, Spokane Valley and the Silverwood Theme Park.
It can use that proximity to generate room-nights at local motels and hotels, acting as an overflow area for Coeur d’Alene visitors, said Bibiana Nertney with the Idaho Department of Commerce tourism division.
The new visitors center will be located near Cabela’s at the Pointe development just off Interstate 90, said Post Falls Chamber of Commerce CEO Pam Houser. The group has an oral agreement with Foursquare Properties to lease the land. The building would also house chamber offices.
Cabela’s has been drawing more visitors to the area, but it still doesn’t have the impact of the top attraction north of Coeur d’Alene.
Silverwood has been a key selling point for the Post Falls Sleep Inn, said the hotel’s general manager Jim Zimmerman. The hotel’s summer business is dominated by families purchasing packages to stay in Post Falls and play at the amusement park, about a 25-minute drive away. Last year the hotel sold $239,000 worth of Silverwood passes.
“We found our niche, and we went with it,” Zimmerman said.
Post Falls has opted out of other events, including the June Coeur d’Alene Ford Ironman competition. Local officials wanted the organizers to contribute money toward Post Falls’ costs to host part of the triathlon, and some complained that it made getting around the city impossible.
Last year the Ironman route was rerouted north through Hayden.
Still, with the number of people participating in the race and all of their supporters, Post Falls will likely still see a boost from the event. With its proximity to the action, hotel rooms are sure to fill-up.