Tourism a force in Solano County

Tourism a force in Solano County
Speakers at Vacaville lunch say travel spending 'makes an impact'
By Richard Bammer
Posted: 05/15/2009

Local, state and national tourism leaders on Thursday said tourism is a "huge" financial and economic force in Solano County, the state and nation. They agreed that despite the ongoing recession, more people are expected to travel on Memorial Day and during the summer than they did in 2008.

Celebrating National Tourism Week and speaking at the Solano County Tourism Lunch at Galaxy Banquets in Vacaville, Melyssa Laughlin, executive director of the Vacaville Conference & Visitors Bureau, said whether or not travelers take a 50-mile trip -- or one 100 times as long -- tourism "makes an impact."

The group of about 25 who gathered for the lunch could read photocopied figures about tourism's impacts in Solano -- data from an April report issued by the California Travel & Tourism Commission. In black and white, the 2007 numbers (the latest available) were noteworthy: total direct travel spending, $587 million; hotel and motel receipts, $158 million; total earnings, $158 million; and local tax receipts, $7.5 million.

Jonelle Tannahill, the tourism development manager and California Welcome Center liaison, said people "still want to go on a vacation -- they think it's their right." Her comment struck a hopeful chord amid a steady media diet of mostly dour economic news, including staggering job losses, home foreclosures and new U.S. Commerce Department figures that show consumers are saving more and spending less.

Noting the state tourism commission's job is "to get people into California," Tannahill said travel affordability is on the rise but cautious consumers "are looking for a deal."

She noted most U.S. visitors to California come from three states: Texas, Illinois and New York, attracted by the California lifestyle and high-quality food and wine.

Tannahill said part of the tourism commission's $50 million budget has been set aside to create an engaging Web site, www.visitcalifornia.com, promoting the Golden State.

She credited Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's tourism and business trips to foreign countries for generating interest and excitement among international travelers.

The afternoon's other featured speaker, Bill Geist, a Wisconsin-based tourism expert in destination marketing for organizations, said, "Every single one of us is in the tourism industry" and that the purpose of travel groups such as VCVB is to encourage visitors to part with their money and "send them home with a smile."

Tourism, he asserted, is "an interconnected business," meaning it not only suggests travelers who spend but also people who service the industry, everyone from the dry cleaner to the gas station operator .

Geist noted cities that design their downtowns to appeal to young professionals also attract "empty-nest boomers" looking for similar diversions.

He said the "culinary side" of tourism and cultural attractions and the arts contribute significantly to travel expenditures and that tourism groups, such as VCVB, should use social networking Internet sites, Twitter, YouTube and Facebook among them, to promote themselves.