Tourism industry looks to lure visitors to San Luis Obispo County

As the summer travel season gets under way this weekend, San Luis Obispo County hotels and other tourism-related businesses are hoping good deals will be enough to entice budget-conscious vacationers to the Central Coast.

Many hotels are reducing regular room rates, some by as much as $50, and offering more complimentary wine tasting, restaurant meals and attractions.

Much is at stake for the county, given that tourism is a top economic driver, generating an estimated $1.12 billion a year in revenue.

“People don’t have a lot of disposable income they can plan on and are waiting until the last minute to see if they can afford to go.”

A job loss, unexpected car problem or credit card debt can easily eat up extra money set aside for travel, said Dave Kastner, a spokesman for the county Visitors & Conference Bureau.

Industry officials expect regional travel to continue its two-year decline.

About 2.5 million Southern California residents are expected to take trips this weekend — down 2.3 percent from 2008, according to the Auto Club of Southern California.

Still, businesses that depend on tourism are optimistic that vacationers will be swayed by bargains and choose the Central Coast this summer. And, with the county’s relatively short distance from San Francisco and Los Angeles, those deals coupled with cheaper gas might “make getting away this long weekend and throughout the summer more attractive than perhaps originally thought,” Auto Club spokeswoman Elaine Beno said.

The average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gas in the county was $2.68 Friday. That’s about $1.40 a gallon less than a year ago.

Memorial Day

If Memorial Day weekend is any indicator, local businesses’ hopes for a solid summer may pan out.

Many hotels in the city of San Luis Obispo, as well as those in the North and South County, reported full occupancy for Saturday, with softer figures Friday and Sunday.

Campsites along the coast were nearly sold out as of Wednesday, according to officials, with only a few one-night stays left at San Simeon.

Reservations at state parks in this county were up 4 percent over the same period last year as of Wednesday, spokesman Roy Stearns said. Visits to parks are estimated to bring 6,324 visitors and their dollars to the county.

Travelers have booked wine tours, and Hearst Castle ticket sales are on par with previous years. The Castle expects its usual 15,000 visitors this weekend, officials said.

State Parks officials are also seeing longer stays booked throughout California; they said they think that’s because people may be choosing cheaper vacations closer to home.

Bargains vs. budgets

As tourists weigh whether they can afford to vacation this summer, they’re waiting longer to book trips and tours, local companies said, and scouring the Internet for deals.

Jill Tweedie, president of Breakaway Tours & Event Planning, which has offices in Paso Robles, San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara, said people are waiting longer to book wine tours. “We have noticed lead time for booking private charters has shortened, much like after 9/11.”

To help motivate travelers, Sycamore is offering the lowest rates it’s had in five years, Houston said, down $20 to $50 across the board for all rooms.

San Luis Obispo’s Apple Farm Inn sales and marketing director Kim Wykoff said it is focusing more on new summer packages created with nearby wineries and other businesses.

Its Summer Culinary Package, for example, offers We Olive samples, a free herb plant from Growing Grounds Nursery & Farm and complimentary wine tasting.

Dining, recreation and retail members at the Visitors & Conference Bureau recently asked officials there to develop special deals on food, wine, shopping and play to encourage more tourist spending.

“(Visitors) are still staying at hotels, but (business at) the restaurants and auxiliaries are really dropping off, so this is a way to help those members out,” Kastner said of the new coupon pages accessible on the bureau’s Web site and at local hotels.

Better than elsewhere

Even if fewer visitors do vacation here this summer — as expected — data from Tennessee-based Smith Travel Research shows that San Luis Obispo County’s hotel sector wasn’t as bad off in the first three months of the year as those in neighboring markets.

That means more jobs, “or at least fewer job losses and business closures for the thousands of locals that rely on the local tourism industry,” Kastner said.

Hotel occupancy from San Luis Obispo to Paso Robles is down 7.7 percent from January to March year-over-year, according to the research firm, while occupancy in Santa Barbara/Santa Maria fell 11.6 percent, and Monterey/Salinas dropped 14.1 percent.

Statewide occupancy is down 13.5 percent, according to the firm.

Visitors & Conference Bureau officials think the fact that occupancy in San Luis Obispo County hasn’t dropped as much as its neighbors is a good indicator for summer.

“We may be going down,” Kastner said. “But everyone else seems to be going down a lot more, and that’s positive for us.”