Throughout the past year the San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce has hosted more than 45 media outlets, travel writers and bloggers, facilitating articles, feature stories and videos showcasing the Central Coast as more than a one-night stopover.
This effort resulted in hundreds of prominent placements in publications including The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Sunset Magazine and Travel+Leisure, among others, recognizing SLO as a destination.
Local lodging owners have felt the impact.
Since July 2014, monthly tourism revenue received from local hotels, inns and other lodging in San Luis Obispo has seen between an 8 percent and 20 percent monthly year-over-year increase.
“The growth that we have seen over the last three years is great for local businesses and the San Luis Obispo economy as a whole,” said Molly Kern, marketing coordinator with the SLO Chamber. “Visitors are reading about how amazing SLO is and coming to experience it for themselves.”
The numbers have been steadily increasing since the 2010-11 fiscal year, when the so-called bed tax grew 8.5 percent over the previous year. Each year since has seen significant growth: in 2011-12 transient occupancy tax was up 8 percent, in 2012-13 it was up 6.2 percent, in 2013-14 it was up 8.6 percent and in 2014-15 it was up 12.3 percent.
Along with rising numbers in tourism revenue, the SLO Chamber also welcomed a record number of visitors to our downtown Visitor Center, where more than 80,000 walk-ins, 6,000 phone calls and nearly 2,000 emails were greeted by Chamber staff.
“Steady, consistent increase and growth is what we are looking for and seeing,” said Nipool Patel, co-owner of the Lamplighter Inn and chair of SLO City Tourism Business Improvement District board of directors. “These are numbers that we can count on and use to plan future growth not only for the city but for our own businesses.”
The city’s transient occupancy tax is the fourth largest revenue generator for the City behind general sales tax, property taxes and funds raised through Measure G.
Funds raised from TOT go into the City’s general fund, which pays for essential city services such as police and fire, as well as some personnel expenses. The City has estimated that it will raise nearly $6.8 million from TOT in 2015-16, making up 10 percent of the forecasted general fund revenue.