Santa Maria Tourism Group Launches Stimulus Promotion to Lure Guests | Enterprise

A visit to the Santa Maria Valley can be worthwhile – at least until March.

Visitors could get $ 100 for two consecutive nights of staying at Santa Maria Valley hotels as part of a special stimulus package that has proven to be as popular as the area’s tri-tip, wines, and strawberries.

The media reported earlier this week about the unique “stimulus” offering that quickly spread across the state and beyond.

“This California city is going to be visited,” reported the San Francisco Chronicle. “Take a trip to Santa Maria and get paid,” said a Bakersfield television station. “Looking for travel ideas? A California city pays people to visit, ”reported an Ohio TV station.

“The response has been stronger (and faster) than originally expected,” said Glenn Morris, president and chief executive officer of the company Santa Maria Valley Trade, Visitors and Convention Bureau.

Morris said the initial advertising budget was to give out 500 gift cards between this weekend and the end of March.

“The last update showed that we already had more than 200 requests,” said Morris. “Of course these have to become actual stays before we give them the card, and not all requests are qualified, but at least we know that people are hearing and thinking about the Santa Maria Valley.”

“Claim your incentive,” it says on the organization’s website. “Book a two-night minimum stay in the Santa Maria Valley by March 31st. We’re giving you $ 100 to spend while you’re here at local restaurants, breweries, wineries, and attractions.”

The hospitality industry on the Central Coast has suffered from restrictions related to COVID-19.

The Chamber of Commerce received nearly $ 700,000 from the city for the current fiscal year, but no Santa Maria money is used to fund the tourist attractions. Instead, funding comes from a special tourism marketing district set up by hotels and funded through a fee for rented hotel rooms.

Hotels made that Santa Maria Tourism Marketing District, Just extended for another seven years to get a 2% surcharge on room stays. The proceeds will be used to market the Santa Maria to attract visitors.

The Chamber of Commerce manages the tourism marketing district.

A screenshot of the website shows the Santa Maria Valley Tourism Organization’s offer to offer a $ 100 incentive to stay at a local hotel for two nights.

When the idea for the tourism promotion program came up, officials looked at a few options, such as: B. Buying gift cards directly from local businesses and selecting visitors from the pool.

For the sake of simplicity, they ultimately opted for generic Visa prepaid cards.

“We strongly recommend that the maps be used around town, but there is ultimately no way for us to track or guarantee it,” said Morris, adding that the rules can be found on the map Website.

The program provided a secondary boost as the gift cards were bought from a fundraiser from St. Mary of the Assumption School, Said Morris.

The State Public Health Ordinance of Jan. 6 urges Californians to avoid unnecessary travel more than 120 miles from home or any other state or country.

“Avoiding travel will reduce the risk of virus transmission, including by reducing the risk of new sources of infection and potentially new strains of virus being introduced into California,” the state said.

Morris said the stimulus program campaign makes a strong point that while the community welcomes visitors, they should be respectful and adhere to known standards for safe travel, including wearing masks, social distancing and hand washing.

– – Noozhawk North County Editor Janene Scully can be reached at (JavaScript must be activated in order to display this email address.). Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @ NozhawkNews and @ NozhawkBiz. Connect to Noozhawk on Facebook.