The Economic Vitality Corporation presented a tourism study Thursday that suggested San Luis Obispo County cities should work together, not against each other.

SLO County should have some serious meetings about leveraging the county as a whole instead of perpetuating a trend of internal, competing interests when considering how to best approach the tourism market, said Carl Ribaudo, president of Strategic Marketing Group, who presented a new tourism study commissioned by the EVC Thursday at the Paso Robles Inn. The recommended approach would focus on leveraging tourist dollars and countywide promotion efforts to help edge out competition coming from the north and south in neighboring Monterey and Santa Barbara counties.

“Either the competition is outside county lines or inside the county lines,” he said.

Ribaudo focused on a recent change in leadership at the SLO County Visitors and Conference Bureau, which he said could prove beneficial to the county by providing a chance to remobilize.

The report focused on several key issues and recommendations. Among them, it suggests forming an airport task force to help aid continued and expanded services in SLO County. It also recommends attracting a brand lodging property to help establish the region in a class similar to its major competitors; focusing on revenue growth; a cohesive mindset focused on growing travel spending for the entire county; a conference center within the county; and lastly, it recommends initiating meetings between tourism officials and appropriate county planning personnel to develop a common vision for tourism development in rural areas.

The county should develop its own distinctive brand, Ribaudo said, one that leverages it as a whole. Various cities in the county, including Paso Robles, have their own distinct brand at the current moment. The old brands don’t have to be thrown out, he said, it’s just that the county as a whole could benefit from a combination of both.

“I just saw the new Paso Robles brand,” he said. “Everyone should have a cool brand. There are a lot of brands coming out of this region and that is good if we can channel them all.”

SLO County has plenty to offer from in its natural resources from beautiful beaches to rolling vineyards to pre-established infrastructure like hospitality and visitor services. Organizational efforts designed to attract visitors, notwithstanding, are “mixed,” the report states.

Dave Christy, Ph. D., said National Geographic Travel Magazine recently ran a roughly 24-page spread on things to do on the Central Coast; however, there was not a single advertising presence of SLO County brands. Perhaps if there was a consolidated effort toward intra-county tourism coordination than the key players could have been part of that article, he said.

“The symbolism of that ad is you are not in the game,” Ribaudo said.

SLO County ranks third behind Santa Barbara and Monterey counties in travel spending. The report said SLO county is “significantly underfunded” when compared to Monterey and Santa Barbara counties. In SLO County, tourism promotion agencies currently spend $211 per available room. Monterey County spends $456 per room.

“To reach parity with Monterey, San Luis Obispo would need to increase tourism promotion revenues by $2 million and, more importantly, coordinate those dollars to gain maximum leverage,” the report states. “Without doubt, [San Luis Obispo County] has all the necessary elements to be a more competitive player within the California tourism market. The area has natural attractions, history, culture and numerous elements that make it a unique destination. With the information and recommendations contained in this report, local private and public sector leaders can bring about the necessary changes to make the region more competitive.”

Ribaudo suggested it was a matter of bringing everything together under a cohesive vision.

“I think you guys have all of the elements; you have the goods,” he said. “Leadership is critical, and I’m urging people to step forward and work cooperatively together.”

Paso Robles Chamber of Commerce CEO Mike Gibson said he supports the idea of a countywide approach in theory.

“We’ve got to move from being competitive with each other to looking at being competitive with Monterey and Santa Barbara counties,” he said. “Paso Robles is a great example of people coming together to move things forward.”

City Manager Jim App said the fundamental findings of market positioning, strengths and weaknesses were not a surprise.

“It wasn’t surprising that there was a call for cooperative countywide action since this was a countywide plan,” he said. “We don’t necessarily disagree, but there are a number of factors that need to be addressed that are important to effectuating a meaningful and productive countywide campaign.”

Currently, the city of Paso Robles is awaiting completion of a city-specific tourism report undertaken by the same authors, Strategic Marketing Group and Dean Runyan Associates, which is expected within a few weeks, city officials said.

“When the EVC brought forward this idea we asked if they could ask for prices to do a city specific study in addition to the county because we wanted to understand what exactly happens in town and how that affects county and vice versa,” App said.

The public in attendance at last Thursday’s presentation had a number of questions for Ribaudo and the study group. Among them, City Councilman Duane Picanco asked if RV parks were considered in the tourism study.

Ribaudo said no, but he reiterated that a full mix of tourism options including such parks should be part of the mix.

Mayor Pro Tem Gary Nemeth questioned whether it’s helpful or hurtful to have business improvement districts being simultaneously pursued at the city and county level.

Ribaudo said it’s helpful at one level, but “you need to have some very serious meetings” about countywide tourism efforts concurrently.

Other questions came from interested citizens or individuals with a stake in the tourism market.

Questions from the audience included how the study views the role of Amtrak, questions on the return on investment for local tourism dollars, ecotourism and the difference between a conference and convention center.

The full report is available for download online at www.sloevc.org.





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