Sonoma County tourism continues surge

It was another record-setting year for the tourism industry in Sonoma County.

Visitors spent just under $1.65 billion in the county in 2014, an increase of nearly $40 million, or about 2.4 percent, from the previous year, according to figures released this week by Visit California. It’s the fifth year the county has experienced growth since the economic downturn, according to Ken Fischang, president and CEO of Sonoma County Tourism.

The surge meant more jobs for the area, as well as an additional $5 million in tax revenue, a 3.6 percent change from the previous year. Tim Zahner, chief marketing officer for Sonoma County Tourism, said that tourism contributes $760 for every household in the county.

While the hundreds of wineries in the county are a big draw, Zahner said it’s not the sole reason visitors are coming here.

“People come here primarily for the scenic beauty and to spend time with their significant others,” he said. “You can drink wine in Texas, (but) there’s something about drinking wine in a beautiful place.”

Wendy Peterson, executive director of the Sonoma Valley Visitors Bureau, said visitors want a broad experience in the county. “They want to do so much more than just to visit wineries,” she said.

She and other local officials attribute the growth in tourism in part to the collaboration of businesses and government agencies.

“There is such a collective, collaborative spirit between the business community, the locals and the city government,” she said. “We’re all working together.”

Tourism generated more than $11 million in hotel bed taxes in the unincorporated area alone in 2014, according to figures from Visit California. Santa Rosa collected $4.6 million, followed by $2.9 million in Sonoma and $2.6 million in Healdsburg.

Carla Howell, executive director of the Healdsburg Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau, said a large portion of the bed taxes collected in Healdsburg goes to parks and recreation.

“It keeps the park clean and the recreation center open,” she said.

Tourism supported 19,350 jobs in 2014, an increase of 450 jobs from 2013, according to Visit California. That’s about 10 percent of the total job market in the county, said Ben Stone, executive director of the Sonoma County Economic Development Board.

Many of those jobs are in the wine and service industry, he said.

“A lot of those service jobs are attractive for people (who are) starting out, those who don’t speak English and people who are retired,”

Howell said it’s too difficult to track the number of visitors who stop by Healdsburg, but that an uptick was noticeable.

“It definitely feels like there’s more people here,” Howell said.

“Of course they come for food and wine,” she said. “But we also have a huge number of cyclists come here … (and) we also have the river.”

She said that coverage in national magazines and newspapers and being named as one of the best small towns to visit in America last year by the Smithsonian Magazine helped draw more visitors to the area.

“People are coming out of curiosity,” Howell said.

Carrie Brown, owner of Jimtown Store in Alexander Valley, also noticed the difference.

“If Healdsburg is super busy, we’re busy,” she said, adding that business dropped about 20 percent during the economic downturn.

However, business has been steadily increasing in the past few years. She said she saw about a 15 percent increase in just the past year.

Visitors are coming from all over the U.S. and abroad, including from New Zealand, Canada and Mexico. They often stop at the store, looking for a quiet, healthy meal while visiting the wineries or bicycling in the area.

“We hope we can continue to grow and expand,” said Brown, who opened the store on Highway 128 more than two decades ago.

She added those visitors help “balance out the quiet times in the winter, although it seems that quiet season is getting shorter.”

Sonoma County continues to draw workers in the Silicon Valley and Bay Area technology industry.

“It’s a real boost,” Stone said about the high-tech industry.

Dominic Wiggam, a project coordinator with the Sonoma County Economic Development Board, said as the economy continues to recover, more people are finding they have more disposable income to spend on traveling.

“It’s helped people get out on day trips, commuting to the county,” Wiggam said.

Sonoma County also is seeing more international tourists.

“As the world gets richer, it’s good for Sonoma County,” Stone said. “They want our products. They want our scenery. They want our wine.”

Tourism from China, which has seen a swelling middle class, is among the fastest-growing for Sonoma County, Zahner added. “There is a lot pent-up demand from Chinese travelers,” he said, adding they’re also seeing a lot of people from North America, Japan and Australia.

International travelers make up about 10 to 15 percent of total tourists, Zahner said. He said there’s a big push in the county to attract travelers from around the country.

“We’re on the road every month in different places, telling people to come to Sonoma,” Zahner said.

However, he added, “The Bay Area is still our strongest base for visitation.”

You can reach Staff Writer Eloísa Ruano González at 521-5458 or eloisa.gonzalez@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @eloisanews.