Leavenworth’s Bavaria trip adds new meaning to chamber-led travel

LEAVENWORTH - For some chambers of commerce, organized travel is a common mechanism for revenue, offering fully planned group itineraries in exciting destinations for the community.

These trips are often focused on cultivating connections through travel, inspiring new business or community development ideas, and encouraging personal and professional enrichment. 

For instance, the Moses Lake Chamber of Commerce offers domestic and international trips that offer “tourism along with unique cultural business exchanges,” planning travel to Greece, Italy and New England this year. The Gig Harbor Chamber of Commerce will lead a trip to the French Riviera in the fall.

When the Leavenworth Chamber of Commerce organized its trip this spring, Bavaria was naturally its destination of choice.

“Learning about the place that we are replicating in our town just adds a lot more authenticity. I think the longevity of this Bavarian theme will continue to last because of that,” said Leavenworth Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Troy Campbell.

The 10-day trip, which began in Munich, the capital city of the state of Bavaria, included a mix of chamber representatives, business owners, and city staff. 

The group stayed in the historic towns of Fussen, Garmisch, and Berchtesgaden, while taking day trips to various towns and their May festivities. Intentionally timed with the region’s spring celebrations, the visitors witnessed different communities celebrate Maifest across the region, as well as attending Austria’s spring celebration, Gauder Fest.

“For us, it's about finding new inspiration, making our events more authentic, because although [Leavenworth] had a very inauthentic beginning, we do everything we can to make sure that we're representative of culture in the best light and in the most authentic light," said Campbell.

In addition to the festivities, visitors took notes on business marketing and products, the elements of design and architecture, and how the towns managed their own tourists. 

For the City of Leavenworth, city staff observed different approaches to pedestrian plazas, curbless plaza entries, stormwater management, street furniture, streateries, landscape and planter design, bollards, parking management, wayfinding, and architectural design. 

“With the preliminary design phase underway for the Front Street Pedestrian Plaza project, in tandem with ongoing improvements to city infrastructure, there was immense value in the city being able to obtain firsthand knowledge of Old-World Bavaria in real-world practice,” said Leavenworth Communications Manager Kara Raftery, in an email to Ward Media.

Yet, at its core, the Bavaria trip served its purpose as a typical chamber-led trip, bringing another level of camaraderie to community representatives and officials.

“Whether you're Bavarian themed or not, if a chamber wants to take this on, I highly recommend it,” said Campbell.

Taylor Caldwell: 509-433-7276 or taylor@ward.media