Summer tourists often provide a big boost to restaurants, stores and hotels in Central Oregon; while Mt. Bachelor is a big draw during the winter. The busiest time for tourists is actually right now, and our biggest competitor for those tourism dollars is the Oregon Coast. So how are things on the coast? Caroline Bauman heads the Economic Development Alliance of Lincoln County. She says tourism plays an important role in their economy too, and times have been pretty tough recently: “To the degree that we are tourism dependent, it’s not our only industry but it is a major one. But it all has to do with how the economic health of the places that our tourists are coming from.   Over the last few years, the families have less to spend. They still come to the coast; they want to go to the beach, which is free, but they don't have as much money to spend as they had in the past.” Similar to Central Oregon, Lincoln County has been focusing on diversifying its economy so it's not as dependent on tourism. One big difference compared to Bend is that the Oregon Coast hasn't seen dramatic changes in real estate values. Bowman says ocean front property seems to be in demand in any kind of economy.