Sherrye Wyatt, Whidbey and Camano Islands Tourism

About Whidbey and Camano Island Tourism

We're a board of 18 residents of Whidbey and Camano Islands dedicated to promoting tourism throughout Whidbey and Camano Islands. We meet monthly and are funded by the 2% lodging taxes and other grants and oversee a comprehensive marketing and public relations program.
We advertise, work with media, do content marketing, manage a website and social media platforms, collaborate with regional and state tourism partners and more-- all to support the islands. When you see ads promoting both Whidbey and Camano islands, that's us.If you see a story in print about us, chances are good we worked with the writer. If you see a film or TV commercial shot here, we likely helped that producer show off our scenic beauty with minimal disruption.

About Sherrye Wyatt

Public Relations & Marketing Consultant, Professional Writer, Washington, USA (current). Provide writing, public relations and marketing expertise for clients, primarily in the wine, agricultural, and tourism industries. She has extensive experience and knowledge in the wine industry including the international export market. Previously, she spent several years helping to direct communications programs for the Washington Association of Wine Grape Growers. Before working in the wine industry, she helped to create, and then managed for seven years, a charitable foundation serving Washington’s tree fruit industry. Prior to that she lived in Washington, D.C. where she was director of public affairs for an international trade association representing North American Export Grain Association (NAEGA).

Sherrye’s Capstone Project

Link: Trails-Capstone-Project-November-29-2021.pdf

Description:

Whidbey and Camano Islands are 30 miles from Seattle and accessible by both bridge and ferry. During the pandemic, visitors swarmed here for both emotional and physical healing in the islands’ rural landscape of windswept coastline and forests. The number one request at our visitor centers was for trail maps. Guests were handed a hodge podge of photocopied papers and existing trail web apps. Everyone was sent to the most popular trails. This created a negative impact on those trails. The TTC course gave Whidbey and Camano Islands Tourism the confidence to do three groundbreaking things:

1. Receive approval and funding to create a guide of 25 lesser-known trails “off the beaten path”

2. Create new partnerships with organizations devoted to conservation to approve trail selection and provide stewardship messaging in the guide: Whidbey Camano Land Trust and Sound Waters Stewards

3. Devote 2022 to the Transformative Destinations Program to embrace a new strategic approach to tourism. We are currently "ground-truthing" trails, creating videos and putting the online and print guide together (estimated completion Spring 2022).