The foodies are back!

The sighting of one or more black bears in Forest Park was hailed today as a sign of renewed interest in tourism in Portland.

Jeff Miller, the president and CEO of Travel Portland, told KOIN that the arrival of the carnivoran mammals signaled a dramatic resurgence by the City of Roses as a vacation spot. “These are sophisticated leisure travelers,” Miller said. "They know Portland is a world-class destination for fine dining. And when they experience northwest Portland near the Leif Erickson Trail, they realize ‘Portland looks fine. Compared to any other city we forage in; Portland looks no worse.’"

Miller noted that in addition to bears, coyotes have also been spotted in various locations around town. “Portland’s tourism economy is really roaring back, no pun intended. We’ve got aways to go to get our highest benchmark, but things are looking very, very positive,” Miller said. “These bears make me bullish on this summer and where we’re going as an industry.”

Miller, whose most recently disclosed annual compensation package at the nonprofit was worth $536,554, added that he is working with the Events and Film Office at Prosper Portland to see if they can atttact a Hollywood studio to Portland as the location of a film shoot later this year. "Given the success of 'Cocaine Bear,' we're putting in a bid for a sequel," Miller said. "The working title is 'Fentanyl Bear.'" Travel Portland has also signed a multi-million-dollar contract with Wieden Kennedy to attract more multicellular, eukaryotic organisms to the city.