New Data Reveals How Seaside Residents View Tourism’s Impact
Along with a handful of other Oregon destinations, the City of Seaside collaborated with the OSU-Cascades Sustainable Tourism Lab this spring for a second year of capturing statistically representative and relevant sentiments on tourism in the Seaside community. Researchers (with help from our Community Liaison Ken Heman) managed to get a survey population that was overwhelmingly (77.2%) not employed in the hospitality industry, which is a remarkable feat in a destination like Seaside. This data offers a real peek at community sentiments outside the tourism industry.
Relative to other benchmark destinations, Seaside is progressing positively year-over-year in many key indicators despite being a mature destination in the tourism lifecycle.
— City of Seaside Visitors Bureau
Read the 2025 results in full here.
For the Oregon Coast as a whole, this work matters. Community sentiment research helps tourism leaders better understand the lived experiences of residents, ensuring that growth in visitor activity aligns with local priorities and values.
For OCVA and our coastal partners, studies like this also underscore the importance of destination stewardship: listening to local voices, measuring impacts, and using data to shape policies and programs that benefit both visitors and residents. Beyond Seaside, OCVA maintains a repository of similar research and stories—including wider resident sentiment data collected through Travel Oregon—on our Industry Planning Documents page. These resources are designed to give our partners a fuller picture of the opportunities and challenges shaping tourism along the entire Oregon Coast.