Published on : Thursday, May 15, 2014
Santa Monica Convention & Visitors Bureau (SMCVB) hosted its 5th annual Travel & Tourism Summit at the Fairmont Miramar Hotel & Bungalows today in celebration of the U.S. Travel Association’s National Tourism Week. The event provided a year one update on SMCVB’s 5-year strategic plan,
announced updates on Santa Monica’s visitor population and provided industry updates from Visit California. Speakers at the event included: Visit California President/CEO Caroline Beteta, SMCVB CEO/President Misti Kerns, and City of Santa Monica Director of Planning and Community Development David Martin.
The results of the 2013 Santa Monica Tourism Economic and Fiscal Impact report were released at the summit and highlighted several important changes to Santa Monica’s visitor profile within the past year. The report, which has been conducted on an annual basis since 1983, revealed that visitors to Santa Monica from outside the United States remained steadily above 50%, an important balance to maintain as international visitors tend to stay longer, use public transportation, and spend more money during their visit. Also notable were figures revealing that tourism jobs in Santa Monica increased 5.6% to 12,908, and that overnight visitors to Santa Monica rose 5.2% from 2012 to 2013.
“The figures revealed today show that the efforts driving our strategic plan are working,” Kerns announced. “We are converting day visitors to overnight visitors, which is clearly illustrated in the steep increase in Transient Occupancy Tax, up 7.6% from last year. This generated $42.3 million to our city’s general fund, providing critical funding to our city’s schools, parks and fire and police departments, allowing for many other services for our residents. These numbers, supported by figures showing that both the number of jobs supported by tourism and total visitor spending reached record highs in 2013, makes it clear that tourism is an essential aspect of Santa Monica’s thriving economy.”
For the first time this year, attendees had the opportunity to participate in one of two breakout sessions at the summit. One session highlighted Santa Monica as an emerging tech destination, while the second focused on SMCVB’s international sales and marketing opportunities. The tech-focused breakout session highlighted how SMCVB is working to attract groups and business travelers to the destination, with a specific emphasis on how the examination of these trends can help Santa Monica businesses grow market share in the industry. The international sales and marketing breakout session concentrated on the latest tourism trends, opportunities and challenges in Australia, Brazil and the United Kingdom, SMCVB’s top international markets, in an effort to show attendees how to better promote their business and increase revenues from these international visitors.
A SMCVB representative also announced the launch of the “Santa Monica Shuttle”, a new partnership between SMCVB and Santa Monica Free Ride. This new, on-demand service will give pedestrians a fun and environmentally friendly way to experience Santa Monica by taking them to Main Street, Santa Monica Place, Downtown Santa Monica, the Santa Monica Pier, and Montana Avenue in hotel-sponsored electric vehicles at no cost. It will initially launch with Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel, Shutters on the Beach and DoubleTree Santa Monica, while looking to expand with more vehicles to additional Santa Monica hotels.
At the conclusion of the summit, JW Marriot Santa Monica Le Merigot’s Front Desk Manager Jessica Mahone was honored with the Thelma Parks Tourism Spirit Awards for her contribution of exceptional service in the hospitality and tourism industry. She was awarded a $1,000 scholarship and a hotel stay at Palihouse Santa Monica, provided by SMCVB and the Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce.
Tags: santa monica convention
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