Laguna Beach tourism marketing report highlights environmental stewardship
Visit Laguna Beach, the city’s marketing arm, has been increasing its efforts to advance the cause of environmental stewardship, according to an annual report presented to the City Council during its meeting Tuesday.
“I’m very happy with the work that’s been done, particularly in the last year, by Visit Laguna on taking on more of a stewardship role, as opposed to kind of a marketing role,” Mayor Pro Tem Alex Rounaghi said. “You don’t really need to market Laguna Beach. What we need to do is preserve Laguna Beach and the beauty of what makes it so special.”
Among the efforts to achieve that goal is a partnership with the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics that got underway in April, calling on the public to be partners in environmental sustainability.
Also, a collaboration with the Surfrider Foundation has led to quarterly beach cleanups, and the Pacific Marine Mammal Center is using the Visit Laguna Beach visitors center for a gift shop while renovations continue on its primary location in the canyon.
Overnight room rentals bring in the money to cover the work, with businesses in the tourism marketing district — comprised of local lodging establishments — paying an annual self-assessment of 2% of their gross revenue in exchange for promotional benefits. The projected assessment budget for the current fiscal year is just shy of $3.5 million, according to the report, including a balance of $259,578 left over from previous years.
Visit Laguna Beach will receive $1.6 million of that total for its sales, marketing and communications efforts, as well as the administration and operations budget. The rest of the budget is allocated to the arts, Visit Laguna Beach president and chief executive Rachel O’Neill-Cusey said.
The 33rd annual Winter Fantasy show has taken over the grounds at the Sawdust Art Festival in Laguna Beach. The works of 168 artists are being featured in the show.
Funding generated from the assessments is used to support programming for the Arts Commission, Laguna College of Art and Design, Laguna Playhouse, Laguna Art Museum and grants for the cultural arts.
Visit Laguna Beach is responsible for programming related to the tourism marketing district, while the city collects the assessments on a quarterly basis. The tourism marketing district is in effect for an initial five-year period that runs through June 30, 2025.
Visit Laguna Beach’s website refers to the town as “Southern California’s premier coastal destination” and points interested parties to the arts, outdoor activities, hotels and restaurants, and annual events.
A couple of residents speaking during public comments during the City Council meeting called on the organization to make efforts to attract overnight visitors, as opposed to campaigns that would bring in visitors from nearby cities.
Resident Chris Catsimanes said day-trippers add to the issues in town by crowding streets, taking parking spaces in the neighborhoods and trashing beaches.
“You can’t keep them away, but you can surely keep from advertising to those people,” Catsimanes said. “You can advertise internationally, you can advertise statewide or nationally, but why on earth should you want to be attracting more and more of those kinds of people that do nothing but cause a lowering of the quality of life and cost us money?”
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