Oceanside, Calif.- August 17, 2020— On August 19, Visit Oceanside, the city’s destination marketing and management organization, will celebrate its 10th anniversary during the City’s virtual council meeting with a special proclamation and acknowledgement from Oceanside Mayor Peter Weiss. Over the last 10 years, Visit Oceanside’s careful crafting of a unique brand personality for the North County beach destination and support of new tourism generating events and programs for the city — particularly during slower months— has produced significant results. Among these are a doubling in visitor spending since 2009 and an increase in overnight stays, which generate important tax revenues for the City of Oceanside.
“Our mission has always been to unite and support Oceanside’s tourism community from hotels to restaurants, museums and attractions,” said Leslee Gaul, CEO of Visit Oceanside. “When visitors stay in Oceanside, they support our local businesses, which positively impacts jobs, tax revenues and quality of life for the City. Visit Oceanside is proud of its contributions and the success it has achieved over the last decade.”
According to a 2019 study by Dean Runyan, travel spending in Oceanside in 2019 was $415 million, which directly supported 3,500 jobs. Nearly 74 percent of visitor spending went to businesses other than lodging, with the largest portion of visitor dollars spent in restaurants followed by arts, entertainment and recreation. Visitor spending generated record high tax receipts of $12.8 million for the City, which supports many important services including parks, recreation, road repair and public safety.
Important to Visit Oceanside’s success is a sustainable approach to destination promotion. Marketing activities focus on building tourism in the off-season while also encouraging visitors to explore the City outside of its traditional tourism-heavy areas. For instance, Oceanside hosts many of its signature tourism-generating events, such as Ironman 70.3 Oceanside, Race Across America, World Beach Soccer Championships and Bike the Coast, during traditionally slow leisure travel months.
Growth and progress in the City has been integral to helping Visit Oceanside entice more visitors over the last 10 years. New hotel properties, unique new restaurants, and a craft beverage scene that today includes beer, wine, spirits and coffee have consistently provided compelling new reasons to visit. New recreation options have drawn visitor interest with options such as skydiving, helicopter tours, whale watching, electric bike tours and a fresh golfing experience at the renovated Goat Hill Golf Course. Oceanside has also excelled as an arts destination, being named one of just 14 California Cultural Districts in the state, and home to an iconic surf museum, historic theaters and highly respected Oceanside Museum of Art— all which add to the destination’s allure.
“It’s been exciting to watch the progress and work hand-in-hand with the creative vision of our local entrepreneurs,” said Gaul. “Oceanside’s brand has always been about the people who make this City such a fun place to live, work and visit, and it resonates. Oceanside is accessible as well as aspirational and visitors are attracted to the creativity happening here.”
Although celebrating its 10-year milestone during a worldwide pandemic, Visit Oceanside remains optimistic for the future. The debut of two new beach front resorts in 2021 and renovation of the historic pier plaza and amphitheater are highly anticipated new offerings on the horizon. Planning continues on the revamp of the Coast Highway experience into a series of more beautiful and walkable neighborhoods and on the South Morro Hills agritourism strategic plan to create a true farm-to-sea experience.
For more information about Visit Oceanside, visit www.visitoceanside.org.
About Oceanside
Perfectly situated between metropolitan San Diego and Los Angeles, Oceanside is a quintessential California coastal escape that includes wide sandy beaches, a quaint New England-style harbor, historic wooden pier and charming bungalow neighborhoods. O’side (as locals affectionately call it) is a destination of discovery where visitors can explore everything from California history at the “King of Missions” to surf culture at the California Surf Museum and awe-inspiring sea life through exciting ocean adventures. This playful and fun destination thrives on taking recreation to the next level and boasts world-class surfing, skateboarding, bike riding, boating and even skydiving. A flourishing farm-to-table food and craft beer, wine and spirit scene reflects Oceanside’s creative and entrepreneurial spirit, as do exciting arts and culture programs that earned Oceanside one of just 14 California Cultural District designations in 2017. Classically charming, eclectic and always genuine, Oceanside is an ideal place to stay and a true O’riginal. www.visitoceanside.org
About Visit Oceanside
Visit Oceanside Conference and Visitors Bureau is the official tourism marketing organization in Oceanside, Calif; promoting travel to the city for both leisure and group visitors. The organization influences about one-third of the $415 million that is generated by visitor spending in Oceanside each year, which supports more than 3,500 jobs. Visit Oceanside also operates one of the state’s official California Welcome Centers. With just one stop, visitors can find local, regional and state maps, purchase discount tickets to major Southern California attractions, make hotel reservations or shop for the perfect California keepsake. The Visit Oceanside CVB and California Welcome Center- Oceanside are conveniently located just off Interstate 5 at 928 North Coast Highway. For more information, please call (800) 350-7873 or visit www.visitoceanside.org
