The City of Carlsbad has capitalized on its favorable location at the edge of the Pacific Ocean to make the city a prime tourist destination. Great weather, clean ocean water and a family-friendly attraction in LEGOLAND California Resort combine to make Carlsbad competitive as a Southern California draw.
"This year has seen a really big increase in tourism," said Bill Canepa, president of Wave Crest Hotels & Resorts, which owns the Hilton Carlsbad Oceanfront Resort & Spa and the Hilton Garden Inn, and who developed the Tamarack Beach Resort in 1985. "Our transient business is probably up 30 percent at our new resort over the last year, and the Carlsbad market is up 8?to?9 percent. A big driver is LEGOLAND."
Sam Ross, executive director of Visit Carlsbad, agreed that last year's opening of the LEGOLAND Hotel provided a new attraction for families.
"The hotel allowed their guests to increase their overnight stay at the park and SEA LIFE Aquarium," Ross said. "Kids are so excited about LEGOLAND their parents want to give them the experience of staying in the hotel."
The tourism industry is important to the city's financial health. More than 1,500 businesses provide 12,000 jobs, while over 4,000 hotel rooms cater to 3 million annual visitors. It all began with the 400-acre Omni La Costa Resort & Spa, which offers 607 guestrooms, 110,000 square feet of meeting space, and the Champions and Legends golf courses.
The tourism and hospitality industry has rebounded from the recession years, marking three years of increases in hotel room occupancy. That, in turn, contributes to the city's General Fund through transient occupancy taxes, or TOT. These hotel room taxes contributed $14.6 million to the General Fund in the 2012-13 fiscal year, and are projected to contribute $16 million this fiscal year, which will end on June 30. These revenues help fund police and fire services, parks and libraries, the everyday services that help sustain Carlsbad's high quality of life.
It's no accident that the City of Carlsbad has ascended to rival other Southern California cities, like Palm Springs, Santa Barbara and Anaheim. This was the result of a deliberate economic strategy.
However, it's not wise to take success for granted and assume that the tourism industry will take care of itself. There is room for improvement.
So the city's Tourism Business Improvement District and the City of Carlsbad have joined to hire a national hospitality consulting firm, the Strategic Advisory Group, to examine visitor patterns and advise how the city can strategically attract more visitors in the offseason months. The Tourism Business Improvement District includes all hotel businesses located within the city, which collect a fee of $1 per occupied room per night that goes toward promoting the city.
One focus of the study, Ross said, will be the drop in hotel room stays during the offseason. Every Southern California city experiences a decline in occupancy during the months of November through February. But, he noted, "For some reason ours is at the lower end of the trough. Then when summer comes we rank among the highest.
"The city wants to know why this happens and what we can do to reverse it," Ross said. "Should we be putting more money into marketing, and are we doing the right kinds of marketing? The study can help with strategy."
Canepa, who serves on the Tourism Business Improvement District board, noted that the vast majority of visitors are families who drive to the city from Southern California and Arizona.
"Is there more we can do to bring in group business when tourism is not so high, and to increase tourism during those offseason months?" Canepa asked. "What can the Carlsbad Tourism Business Improvement District and the city do to help promote tourism and generate more group business?"
The City of Carlsbad ranks second in TOT revenue only to San Diego city as a San Diego County tourist destination, and that achievement came as the result of hard work. Now is the time to see how we can build on that success for the future and draw even more visitors to Carlsbad in a strategic way.
"This year has seen a really big increase in tourism," said Bill Canepa, president of Wave Crest Hotels & Resorts, which owns the Hilton Carlsbad Oceanfront Resort & Spa and the Hilton Garden Inn, and who developed the Tamarack Beach Resort in 1985. "Our transient business is probably up 30 percent at our new resort over the last year, and the Carlsbad market is up 8?to?9 percent. A big driver is LEGOLAND."
Sam Ross, executive director of Visit Carlsbad, agreed that last year's opening of the LEGOLAND Hotel provided a new attraction for families.
"The hotel allowed their guests to increase their overnight stay at the park and SEA LIFE Aquarium," Ross said. "Kids are so excited about LEGOLAND their parents want to give them the experience of staying in the hotel."
The tourism industry is important to the city's financial health. More than 1,500 businesses provide 12,000 jobs, while over 4,000 hotel rooms cater to 3 million annual visitors. It all began with the 400-acre Omni La Costa Resort & Spa, which offers 607 guestrooms, 110,000 square feet of meeting space, and the Champions and Legends golf courses.
The tourism and hospitality industry has rebounded from the recession years, marking three years of increases in hotel room occupancy. That, in turn, contributes to the city's General Fund through transient occupancy taxes, or TOT. These hotel room taxes contributed $14.6 million to the General Fund in the 2012-13 fiscal year, and are projected to contribute $16 million this fiscal year, which will end on June 30. These revenues help fund police and fire services, parks and libraries, the everyday services that help sustain Carlsbad's high quality of life.
It's no accident that the City of Carlsbad has ascended to rival other Southern California cities, like Palm Springs, Santa Barbara and Anaheim. This was the result of a deliberate economic strategy.
However, it's not wise to take success for granted and assume that the tourism industry will take care of itself. There is room for improvement.
So the city's Tourism Business Improvement District and the City of Carlsbad have joined to hire a national hospitality consulting firm, the Strategic Advisory Group, to examine visitor patterns and advise how the city can strategically attract more visitors in the offseason months. The Tourism Business Improvement District includes all hotel businesses located within the city, which collect a fee of $1 per occupied room per night that goes toward promoting the city.
One focus of the study, Ross said, will be the drop in hotel room stays during the offseason. Every Southern California city experiences a decline in occupancy during the months of November through February. But, he noted, "For some reason ours is at the lower end of the trough. Then when summer comes we rank among the highest.
"The city wants to know why this happens and what we can do to reverse it," Ross said. "Should we be putting more money into marketing, and are we doing the right kinds of marketing? The study can help with strategy."
Canepa, who serves on the Tourism Business Improvement District board, noted that the vast majority of visitors are families who drive to the city from Southern California and Arizona.
"Is there more we can do to bring in group business when tourism is not so high, and to increase tourism during those offseason months?" Canepa asked. "What can the Carlsbad Tourism Business Improvement District and the city do to help promote tourism and generate more group business?"
The City of Carlsbad ranks second in TOT revenue only to San Diego city as a San Diego County tourist destination, and that achievement came as the result of hard work. Now is the time to see how we can build on that success for the future and draw even more visitors to Carlsbad in a strategic way.