Pacific Northwest Economic Region — Global Challenges | Regional Solutions — Matt Morrison, Executive Director — PNWER Working Groups

Summary

A slide presentation by the Pacific Northwest Economic Region (PNWER), presented by its Executive Director and a Program Manager, giving tourism updates. The slides describe PNWER as a public-private partnership of states, Canadian provinces and territories, list its working groups, and trace the creation of a Regional Tourism Council with an initial focus on readiness for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. A funding slide lists a Port of Seattle grant of $30,000, a PacifiCan proposal of $300,000 CAD, and a request that WA State provide $300,000 in match funding over the next two years. Further slides cover proposed Amtrak Cascades improvements, including customs preclearance expected to save 10 minutes of travel time between Vancouver, BC and Seattle. The deck closes with the 2025 PNWER Annual Summit, July 20-24 in Bellevue, WA.

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PACIFIC NORTHWEST
ECONOMIC REGION
GLOBAL CHALLENGES | REGIONAL SOLUTIONS




Matt Morrison, Executive Director
Tara Edens, Program Manager
                                         1
ABOUT PNWER                                   Promoting Greater Regional Collaboration

PNWER is a public-private partnership
chartered by the states of Alaska, Idaho,
Montana, Oregon, and Washington; the
western Canadian provinces of Alberta,
British Columbia, and Saskatchewan; and
Yukon and Northwest Territories.

PNWER is recognized by the federal
governments as the model for regional and
bi-national cooperation because of its
proven success. It is the leading forum
where people in the policy world and
business world come together to
determine solutions to regional challenges.
                                                                                         2
WA STATE DELEGATES




 Rep. Cindy Ryu           Sen. Bob            Sen. Matt                 Sen. Lisa
PNWER President          Hasegawa             Boehnke                   Wellman




             Rep. Mary           Rep. Stephanie           Rep. Brandy
               Dye                  Barnard                Donaghy                  3
PNWER WORKING GROUPS
PNWER addresses a breadth of regional issues through working groups. Each working
group is coordinated by a PNWER staff member and headed by two co-chairs, one
from the private sector and one from the public sector.

     AGRICULTURE                                     INNOVATION

     BORDER & TRADE                                  INVASIVE SPECIES

     CROSS-BORDER LIVESTOCK HEALTH                   MINING

     DISASTER RESILIENCE                             TOURISM

     ENERGY                                          TRANSPORTATION

     FORESTRY                                        WATER POLICY                   4
REGIONAL TOURISM COUNCIL
Establishing the RTC
  Proposed during PNWER Annual Summit in Boise in July 2023
  Approved by PNWER Executive Board in September 2023
  Inaugural Governance Meeting in March 2024
  Regional Tourism Listening Session at PNWER Annual Summit in July 2024

Goals of the RTC
  Initial focus on regional readiness for the 2026 FIFA World Cup
  Work collaboratively toward the safety, efficiency, and ease of cross-border travel
  Spotlight our region as a leader of responsible, sustainable, and resilient tourism!

Governance Structure
  Two representatives from each of the ten PNWER jurisdictions
     One Elected and One Industry Representative
  Supported by a strategic Advisory Committee
                                                                                         5
TOURISM COUNCIL MEMBERS
Alaska                                             Northwest Territories
Senator Jesse Kiehl                                Minister Caitlin Cleveland
Tanya Carlson, ATIA                                Donna Lee Demarcke, NWT Tourism

Alberta                                            Oregon
Chelsae Petrovic, MLA                              Representative Emerson Levy
Danielle Vlemmiks, Travel Alberta                  Kevin Wright, Travel Oregon

British Columbia                                   Saskatchewan
Minister Lana Popham                               Minister Laura Ross
Dave Cowen, The Butchart Gardens, (RTC Co-Chair)   Amy McInnis, Tourism Saskatchewan

Idaho                                              Washington
Senator Kevin Cook                                 Representative Cindy Ryu (RTC Co-Chair)
                                                   David Blandford, State of Washington Tourism
Indigenous Representative
Brady Smith, Indigenous Tourism Assoc. of Canada   Yukon
                                                   Minister John Streicker
Montana
                                                   Amanda Deuling, Sport Yukon
Representative Denise Baum
Jennifer Pelej, MT Dept. of Commerce
                                                                                                  6
2026 FIFA WORLD CUP

“The Canada-U.S. hosting of the FIFA World Cup in 2026
is not only a unique opportunity. It’s a once in a
generation opportunity that people are not aware of or
fully appreciate...

This is so big that it calls not only for an all-of-
government approach, but it requires a PNWER-like
approach.

It’s the kind of presence that PNWER convenes, of
bringing all those stakeholders together, that has the
capacity to really take advantage of that opportunity.”
Ambassador David Cohen
at PNWER’s 2024 Annual Summit


                                                          7
REGIONAL READINESS
PNWER’s Areas of Focus
  Regional Tourism Marketing & Traveler Information Portal
   Border Preclearance Pilots
   Cross-Border Disaster Resilience & Emergency Management Planning
   Transportation and Infrastructure Connections
      Rail improvements - Amtrak Cascades
      Long-term benefits for WA State and BC
   Indigenous and Rural Tourism Opportunities and Economic Development

Ambassador Cohen noted FIFA is an opportunity to showcase the world-class status of
Seattle and Vancouver. Many visitors at FIFA are C-suite executives. Of the companies
that relocated or were established in Vancouver since 2010, 80% had executives that
attended the 2010 Olympic games.                                                        8
FUNDING NEEDED
Currently Funded Project
Port of Seattle Tourism Marketing Support Program: Grant to PNWER to develop a
comprehensive regional tourism marketing & traveler information portal for domestic
and international visitors to promote travel through Port of Seattle-owned facilities and
encourage travel throughout the broader PNW region. ($30,000)

Proposal under Review
PacifiCan Tourism Growth Program: Canadian Federal grant to “Accelerate International
Tourism and Travel Resiliency” with the goals to: develop border processes to
streamline info for travelers, establish regular bilateral cross-sector forums on key
issues, and maintain a Regional Tourism Dashboard. ($300,000 CAD)
The BC government has committed $75,000 CAD toward this project.

Funding Request
PNWER is seeking $300,000 in match funding from WA State over the next two years to
support regional tourism readiness and match Canada’s contributions, particularly as
we prepare to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup.                                                 9
TRANSPORTATION & INFRASTRUCTURE
About the Amtrak Cascades
  Intercity rail service connecting each of the major population
  centers between Eugene, OR and Vancouver, BC
  Operational funding provided by the states of WA and OR
  Hosts six round trips between Seattle and Portland each day,
  and two round trips to Vancouver, BC each day

Preparing the Amtrak Cascades for FIFA
  There is a critical need for improvements at Vancouver’s
  Pacific Central Station to meet modern accessibility
  standards and allow for an increased volume of Amtrak
  Cascades riders
  Upgrading the existing facilities is a cost-effective
  opportunity to improve the customer experience and provide
  more frequent daytime service
                                                                   10
IMPROVING AMTRAK CASCADES
Areas of Improvement
  Train speeds and on-time performance drop north of the U.S. - Canada border.
  The Amtrak platform at Pacific Central Station in Vancouver, BC is too narrow and
  low for new train sets and too small for the volume of passengers projected to visit
  the station in 2026.

                          Current
                         Platform




                         Proposed
                      Improvements
                                                                                         11
PROGRESS MADE & NEXT STEPS
WSDOT & Amtrak Establish Customs Preclearance
  Will eliminate the need for southbound trains to stop in Blaine for U.S. Customs
  agents to board the train to check passengers
  Will save 10 minutes in travel time between Vancouver, BC and Seattle
  Targeting Spring 2025 for implementation

High Performance Rail Working Group Efforts Include:
   Establishing a bi-national working group to enhance passenger train service to BC
   Securing funding for preliminary design and identifying funding sources for station
   improvements
   Improvements will achieve modern disability access compliance and allow for easier
   boarding/disembarking
   Identifying ways to improve on-time performance and add more daily trips between
   the U.S. and Canada via the Cascades with Amtrak and WSDOT
                                                                                         12
2025 PNWER
ANNUAL SUMMIT
July 20-24 | Bellevue, WA
WHY SHOULD YOU ATTEND?
The PNWER Annual Summit provides the opportunity to:         10 Provinces,     50+ Sessions &
  Advocate for regional policies and cross-jurisdictional      States, &        Networking
                                                              Territories          Breaks
  initiatives
  Collaborate and establish partnerships with Canadian &
  U.S. public & private sector leaders
  Learn about key economic issues facing the region
  Strengthen regional networks and cooperation               125+ Speakers     500+ Legislators,
                                                            from the U.S. &   Business Leaders,
Learn more at www.pnwer.org/2025-summit                         Canada        & Decision Makers    13


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