County woos foreign tourists

Sonoma County's tourism business is getting a boost from the falling dollar, which has made U.S. travel a bargain for foreign visitors.

In response, the industry is upping its promotional efforts to attract more international guests during peak travel time later this year.

International tourism already is up 5 percent to 10 percent over last year, according to officials in Sonoma County's visitor industry.

"We've picked up quite a bit of business. It really kicked in the last two or three months," said Jennifer Buffo of Pure Luxury Transportation, which offers wine tours and hotel shuttles.

Most of the new visitors are from Europe, she said. "They're all staying at very high-end properties," Buffo said.

Visitors from other countries are finding their money is buying more U.S. goods and services than it did a year ago.

After slipping for months, the dollar fell to record lows against six major currencies this month, reflecting the nation's weak economy.

The county's hotel tax receipts for the third quarter of 2007 were 9 percent above 2006. The exchange rate might not be the entire reason, but it's a factor, said Michelle Heston, who handles public relations for Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa.

"It's definitely significant," said Heston. The upscale Sonoma resort is seeing more guests from Europe, Asia and Canada, she said. "We've gained a few percentage points in a relatively short period of time."

Wine Country is a major draw for overseas visitors. Henry Lo, a technology sales rep from Taiwan, said he enjoys Sonoma County's wineries whenever he's here on business.

"It's beautiful. I like the weather," Lo said last week while sampling a vintage red at Kendall-Jackson Wine Center in Fulton. "But I most like tasting the wine."

Another attraction is Safari West, an African wildlife preserve near Santa Rosa that offers tours and overnight lodging.

"Australia seems to be a very big market for us," said Aphrodite Caserta, marketing director at Safari West.

Based on the number of reservations and e-mail requests for information, Safari West should see a spike in foreign guests this summer, she said.

The wildlife preserve, which lets visitors get close to exotic animals, is a natural for overseas guests, she said.

"It seems to be a perfect fit for us," Caserta said.

Santa Rosa's Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center, which celebrates the work of the Peanuts cartoonist, also has noticed the trend. While the number of visitors from Japan has remained steady, there's been an increase in the number of European guests, said museum director Karen Johnson.

"Last summer we had a bump, and we'll probably have one again this year," she said.

Last year's return of airline service to Santa Rosa also has helped, said Tim Zahner, marketing director at the Sonoma County Tourism Bureau. Seattle-based Horizon Air launched daily nonstop flights to Seattle and Los Angeles a year ago.

"We're seeing a lot of Canadians because of Horizon Air," Zahner said. Horizon and its sister carrier Alaska Airlines serve a number of cities in Western Canada, making it easy for them to reach Wine Country, he said.

Sonoma County's experience reflects growth in foreign travel statewide, according to Matthew Boone, a marketing director for California's Travel and Tourism Commission.

Overseas visitor arrivals at San Francisco International Airport jumped by almost 10 percent in 2007, and Los Angeles International reported a 6 percent increase.

The largest numbers of foreign tourists come from Japan, the United Kingdom, Australia, Mexico, South Korea, Taiwan, Germany and France.

But visitation from China and India is growing fast, increasing by double digits between 2006 and 2007.

The state tourism agency is aggressively promoting California's attractions in markets outside the United States, Boone said.

While U.S. travel is a bargain, "that's not our primary marketing message," he said. "It's really about what your money buys here."

The state is targeting high-spending independent travelers, he said. A $5 million promotion in Japan includes sample Wine Country itineraries, he said.

"We're leveraging the unique attractions that only California can offer," Boone said. "The profile of Wine Country is going to be increasing dramatically."

The Sonoma County Tourism Bureau also has boosted its promotional efforts, Zahner said, including translating its materials into Spanish and Japanese.

It's partnering with San Francisco's tourism agency on promotions in Europe and Asia, he said. About a quarter of visitors who stay in San Francisco hotels also visit Wine Country, Zahner said.

The Sonoma County bureau recently hosted travel writers from Mexico, Korea, Ireland, Germany, Canada and the United Kingdom, he said.

The tourism bureau has re-branded Sonoma County as "Sonoma Country" -- calling it "America's premier wine, spa and coastal destination." For visitors, the word "country" has more positive connotations than "county" -- which is more likely to be associated with government, according to the tourism bureau.

Tourism has an annual economic impact of more than $1 billion in the county, according to the bureau, the county's official destination marketing organization.

Despite the travel bargains, international tourism in the United States hasn't returned to levels from before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Restrictive visa and entry regulations discourage millions of people from visiting the United States, according to the Travel Industry Association, a Washington, D.C., trade group.

The travel industry is pushing for legislative changes that would make it easier for foreign visitors to enter the United States.

You can reach Staff Writer Steve Hart at 521-5205 or steve.hart@pressdemocrat.com.