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Dear CalTIA Members:
This September we urge a "YES" vote on the California Tourism Marketing Act. Here¹s why:
Tourism is an economic engine for California. It is the second-largest employer in California, and has created twice as many jobs as the rest of the economy over the last 10 years, currently employing 1,109,000 workers. And overall, travel and tourism spending results in an infusion of $75.4 billion annually into the state¹s economy, generating $159 million in tax revenues.
But California tourism hasn¹t always been so strong. California¹s share of the domestic tourism market declined to a 10-year low of 9.9 percent in 1998, due to a combination of factors: a recession; a series of earthquakes, floods and civil disorders; and a lack of state tourism marketing funding, along with an upsurge in marketing by other U.S. destinations, such as Florida, Texas, and Las Vegas. As a result, California lost more than 70,000 tourism jobs and more than $7 billion in tourism spending each year during the 1990s.
To respond to the challenge, travel industry leaders joined to create a unique public-private partnership with state government—the California Travel and Tourism Commission (CTTC)—with the authority to assess itself to fund tourism promotion, and carrying the overall objective to bring more tourists to California. By increasing California¹s tourism funding by 75 percent and launching a host of new programs, the CTTC and its travel industry partners have helped the California tourism market recover.
The results of the CTTC¹s private-public partnership have been spectacular:
- Conducted an aggressive out-of-state national advertising program, resulting in eight million new visitors and $4.5 billion in travel spending.
- Generated an additional $20 million last year in additional cooperative partner funds to promote travel to California.
- Produced 17 informative publications designed to encourage and assist travelers who are making plans to visit or vacation in California.
- Developed a Web site (www.visitcalifornia.com) that generated 42 million hits last year.
- Produced dozens of key research reports, including traveler demographics and trends.
- Hosted major media events in Brazil, New York, London, and other European and Asian cities.
- Opened travel trade offices in Australia, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Germany, Mexico, and Japan, plus public relations offices in the United Kingdom, Germany, and Japan.
- Participated in dozens of international trade shows and sales missions.
- Launched the "Adventures in Wild California" IMAX film project, the largest marketing endeavor ever organized by the travel industry, expected to generate five billion gross impressions worldwide.
What¹s more important, last year with the help of industry partners, we saw a reversal of a decade-long decline in the domestic market share, elevating our share from 9.9 percent to 10.5 percent—generating approximately $2 billion in new visitor spending. And with the infusion of CTTC funding, California has climbed from 24th to 15th in the nation for tourism promotion—even though we still rank below states such as Missouri, Wisconsin, and Iowa.
With today¹s weakened economy, an energy situation raising business costs, and increased aggressive marketing campaigns by other national and international destinations, California¹s continued tourism promotion is more important than ever.
This September, California¹s assessed travel and tourism businesses will once again vote to renew their participation in the CTTC¹s successful tourism marketing program. This is an extremely important time for our industry and we encourage all of you to return your ballots with a "YES" vote before the October deadline. With your continued support, the CTTC will continue to work toward the benefit and enhancement of California¹s tourism industry for years to come!
Sincerely,
Wayne Griffin
President
California Travel Industry Association
Terri Taylor-Solorio
Executive Director
California Travel Industry Association
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