Truckee Destination Stewardship Plan

In October 2020, the first official tourism authority for Truckee, California was formed as Visit Truckee-Tahoe. A strategy for balancing tourism with protecting and preserving Truckee as an economically thriving, authentic mountain town was long overdue.

The Visit Truckee-Tahoe (VTT) Board of Directors voted to fund the development of a five-year Destination Stewardship Plan in order to take the lead on addressing population surges due to both peak period visitation (summer/winter) and new residency. About Us

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A Changing World

Rapid growth in travel and increased rural residency, has caused considerable friction between residents, governments, tourism organizations and visitors. If left unmanaged, this rise in usage for a beloved place will undermine everyone’s quality of life, which will in time, forever degrade a place and sense of community.

Tourism & Visit Truckee-Tahoe's Responsibility

We believe all people have an inalienable right to feel safe, welcome and connected to the community while experiencing Truckee’s mountains, lakes, rivers, scenery and fresh air.

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And while tourism is foundational to the fabric of Truckee’s community and locally-owned small business vitality, we must artfully balance how our actions impact both residents and visitors. The goal is quality of life and authentic experiences for everyone, no matter how long you’re here.

Sustainable Truckee

Also in 2020, Visit Truckee-Tahoe launched the Sustainable Truckee initiative which now includes 15 programs, services and major funding sponsorships designed to protect Truckee’s environment and community character. As the first tourism authority, we also laid a new foundation for how and when to invite and educate visitors to respect and Take Care while here.

Truckee Destination Stewardship Plan - It Takes a Community

For Truckee, we have both the positive and negative impacts of tourism on the local economy and our residents. A Destination Stewardship Plan focuses on an equitable approach that moves beyond business as usual to protect our core values and manage growth.

Visit Truckee-Tahoe is leading the development of a Truckee Stewardship Plan in 2023. The purpose of a Destination Stewardship Plan is to provide a playbook that focuses on tactical solutions for peak-period usage impacts. And, to agree upon a long-term roadmap with a high degree of citizen input that may require infrastructure improvements with metrics, accountability, and partnerships.

This will require community-feedback on which focus areas matter most (i.e. trash/toilets, transportation, inclusiveness, etc.)

Visit Truckee-Tahoe Partners

The effort to develop a Truckee Destination Stewardship Plan is a multi year project that began in 2020. With the help of our VIP Partners, we are well underway in developing a strategy for a tourism evolution from extraction (take) to regeneration (give and grow). View Our Partners

Visit Truckee-Tahoe is also a funding partner of the Lake Tahoe Stewardship Plan, which intersects with and is interdependent upon Truckee’s plan. View Lake Tahoe Stewardship Plan.

CCC - Champion, Convene, Catalyze - Sustainable Truckee Leadership Forum

Being Destination Stewards takes thoughtful outreach and careful listening to the individual voices of every stakeholder, especially those who oversee organizations greatly impacted by high usage time periods when our infrastructure breaks down.

In 2021, Nevada County Supervisor Hardy Bullock (District Five: Truckee + Unincorporated Areas) joined forces with Visit Truckee-Tahoe to create the CCC - Champion, Convene, Catalyze roundtable for all leaders to come together for immediate solutions.

Today and ongoing, the CCC provides a forum that keeps sustainability at the forefront of community planning and engagement. This group is a cross section of destination, land-use and community leaders focused on the advancement of sustainable tourism for Truckee. The aim is to ensure that tourism preserves and even benefits the environment, culture and community livelihood, including quality of life for our residents, and quality of place for our visitors.

Accountability and Sustainable Destination Certification

Thriving communities are not created in silos - they are created by working together. A Destination Stewardship Plan provides our community with an unified approach toward a shared vision. To ensure that Truckee complies with the highest social and environmental standards, Visit Truckee-Tahoe is using the Mountain IDEAL Standard, a GSTC (Global Sustainable Tourism Council), a recognized framework for sustainable destinations in mountainous areas, as well as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).