“We’re Gonna Need a Bigger Boat,” a discussion about sustainable local tourism, is the theme for the 2018 Olympic Peninsula Tourism Summit, set to start in late October.

The conference is open to all businesses across the region.

The summit, centered at the Vern Burton Community Center, 308 E. Fourth St., Port Angeles, is set for Nov. 1-2 in Port Angeles.

“This year’s program … speaks to sustainable tourism across the Olympic Peninsula’s tourism industry, its economic impact and future planning,” Marsha Massey, Olympic Peninsula Visitor Bureau Executive Director, said.

Topics explore answers to these questions: How do we start to envision the future for tourism on the Olympic Peninsula together? What’s working? Where are the gaps? How do we look to grow tourism in a thoughtful and sustainable way? What does the next chapter look like?

Speakers include Paul Ouimet, President and CEO of NEXTFactor Enterprises Inc. and Managing Director for DestinationNext, providing findings from a recent destination assessment survey for the Olympic Peninsula, and Mike Moe, Managing Director for the Washington Tourism Alliance, about new tourism marketing for Washington state.

The luncheon keynote speaker is Jonathan Tourtellot, CEO for Destination Stewardship Center. There will be destination assessment workshops and learning labs Thursday afternoon and Friday morning, covering a range of topics from sustainable tourism practices to technology trends to tourism grant funding.

The summit concludes with lunch on Friday.

The Olympic Peninsula Tourism Summit is sponsored by the Olympic Peninsula Tourism Commission, a marketing partnership of the Chambers of Commerce and tourism marketing entities across the Olympic Peninsula. This year’s host city is the City of Port Angeles, working in conjunction with the Port Angeles Regional Chamber of Commerce.

The Olympic Culinary Loop is sponsoring a pre-Summit “Lunch and Learn” on Oct. 31 at the Red Lion Inn in Port Angeles from 12:30- 2 p.m. with a presentation by Tourtellot on “Cultivating Sustainable Agritourism All Around the Loop.”

To register online for the “Lunch and Learn,” participation at the Summit as an attendee, vendor or sponsor, go to www.chambersignups.com. More detailed information about the speakers, agenda and registration can be found at olympicpeninsula .org/tourism-summit.

For more information, call Olympic Peninsula Visitor Bureau at 360-452-8552 or email to info@olympic peninsula.org.