Bend Officials Have Reinstated an Advisory Strongly Discouraging Tourists From Visiting

All short-term lodging facilities are asked to stop accepting bookings for vacations through Labor Day.

Old Mill District in Bend, Ore. (Sipris/Flickr)
By Andi Prewitt

If you were planning on taking a vacation in Bend this summer, the city is asking that you please cancel your reservations.

On Wednesday, the city council voted to reinstate an advisory that was originally issued in late March discouraging any nonessential travel to the area, The Oregonian first reported. That means any trips to Bend for recreation are strongly discouraged as the state's COVID-19 numbers continue to surge.

Today, the Oregon Health Authority reported 437 new confirmed and presumptive cases, 28 of those in Deschutes County.

Related: As Oregon Again Eclipses Daily COVID Case Record, Mayoral Candidate Sarah Iannarone Calls for Reclosing Portland. 

In the state of emergency guidelines outlined by Bend's city manager, all lodging facilities, including RV parks, are asked to stop accepting bookings from tourists but are not required to close. Only reservations related to health, safety and employment should go forward at this time. The order does not apply to stays longer than 30 days.

The reinstated advisory is scheduled to last through Labor Day.

Meanwhile, Visit Bend, the city's tourism agency, has changed its message following yesterday's city council vote. For weeks, the organization's Facebook page had been sharing tips and stories on everything from how to stay safe in Bend for the Fourth of July to trail etiquette during the pandemic.

Now its website has a large banner on the homepage that states: "Travel to Bend is discouraged. Your Bend vacation can wait for another day." When visitors scroll down, the site references the city council vote restricting short-term lodging and reminds people of Gov. Kate Brown's face mask requirement.

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