About Oregon Travel Experience

The name change and our philosophy

As part of our commitment to public service, our governing body (the Oregon Travel Information Council) performed a thorough review of its current programs and overall strategic plan. As part of this review, the council chose a name which more accurately defines our purpose. Oregon Travel Experience (OTE) is primed to serve you in the following ways:

• We are the frontline experience for the motoring public in Oregon.  Our supervised rest areas are clean and safe.
• We get you where you need to go.  Our highway signs, Travel Plazas and information kiosks help direct you to essential services.
• We go the extra mile so you don’t have to.  We help customers by using innovative, outside-the-box thinking. And if you’re ever stranded in a rest area, our staff will help get you back on the road.
• We are your Oregon guides.  We point the way not only with signs, but by partnering with local businesses and other agencies to give you the information you need to find restaurants, places to sleep, regional attractions and fueling stations.

Our mission

The Oregon Travel Experience mission is to create a great visitor experience by providing direction to destinations, connecting travelers with Oregon’s resources, and ensuring safe and convenient travel.

Our programs

We are a semi-independent state agency with a diverse portfolio. Business highway signs, brochure display programs, rest area light-box advertising, Travel Plazas and TripCheck.com are pathways we use to support community business infrastructure.

Oregon Travel Experience also administers the Oregon Heritage Tree and Oregon Historical Marker programs with groups of highly motivated and professional volunteers. These programs preserve our state’s important historical icons. Many of us can recall standing in front of a historical marker as a child and reading about an event which took place over a hundred years ago; OTE ensures that significant trees and historical markers retain their significance for future generations.

When the governing council was formed in 1972 by the Oregon Legislature, our state was an early adopter of the Federal Highway Beautification Act. The bill encouraged states to replace billboards with highway logo signs as a means of directing motorists to essential services. Oregon Travel Experience continues to develop new ways to serve Oregon business owners and the motorists who depend on their products.

We are a founding member of the Motorist Information and Services Associations (MISA), an international association of organizations who provide motorist information and services.

Oregon Travel Experience programs are collaborative and work in tandem with other state agencies, private industry and the general public. We meet the needs of Oregon motorists and exceed the expectations of program participants. Please visit OTE’s “partners page” for a list of our partner agencies and organizations.