By Melonie Magruder
Staff Writer

May 17, 2012 -- Numbers released at the Third Annual Santa Monica Travel & Tourism Summit on Wednesday show that visitors to Santa Monica are arriving in higher numbers and are spending more than they did the previous year.

Notable figures show visitors spent nearly $1.40 billion last year, supporting some 11,400 local jobs. International visits to Santa Monica were up 4 percent last year and the Transient Occupancy Tax from local hotels increased by 16 percent, generating some $35 million for the city’s general fund – all to benefit street improvements, police and fire departments, parks and schools.

Mayor Richard Bloom welcomed nearly 250 members of the Greater Los Angeles travel industry to the Summit, held at the Sheraton Delfina. Keynote speakers included Caroline Beteta, president and CEO of Visit California and vice chair of the Corporation for Travel Promotion; California Restaurant Association President and CEO Jot Condie; California Travel Association President and CEO John Severini; and Ellis O'Connor, Santa Monica Convention & Visitors Bureau chairman.

“2012 marks the 30th anniversary of the Santa Monica Convention and Visitors Bureau.   and today we are celebrating just how far our industry has come,” Misti Kerns, president and CEO of SMCVB, said. “In 1983, Santa Monica was home to five full-service hotels, the average visitor spent $31 per day and 42 percent of visitors traveled car-free. Today, Santa Monica has 15 full-service hotels, the average visitor spends $234 per day and 75 percent of Santa Monica hotel visitors never use a car once they are here.”

Almost across the board, indicators trended up compared to those of 2009, from the total number of visitors (up 6.5 percent), to hotel tax revenue (up 27.3 percent), to total annual visitor spending (up 20.4 percent).

To highlight the new era of international travel and communication, a screen posted offstage featured real-time Tweets from local businesses for audience members, prompting Kerns to congratulate local restaurants “for taking advantage of the opportunity to announce their lunch specials.”

A global brand approach seemed to be the engine driving the progressive numbers, and the SMCVB screened some of Visit California’s television and Internet ads currently touting the attractions of the Golden State. Many featured amusing appearances by popular celebrities such as octogenarian Betty White and actor Rob Lowe, who waxed rhapsodic about how “California is the iconic American dream.”

Visit California’s CEO Beteta spoke of SMCVB partnerships with large corporations like Disney, Seaworld and Universal as creative collaborations in chasing top family travel activity dollars.

“The idea is to preserve California’s reputation as a top tourist draw through brand building and innovate through brand vitality,” Beteta said.

When Kerns opened the floor to questions for the keynote speakers, the first comments concerned Santa Monica’s perennial dichotomy with development. One man asked what deciding factors would help developers “pull the trigger” on new developments, considering the promising hotel performance numbers of recent years.

SMCVB Chair O’Connor said it came down to fundamentals.

“Will they make a profit?” he asked. “We need a friendly city that encourages the right kind of development to benefit the city.”

Kerns attributed much of the city’s higher tourist profile to initiatives like the Santa Monica Ambassador Program, with more than 2000 ambassadors being certified since the program started, and aggressive print media campaigns.

“Our studies show that 35 percent of our visitors come from within California,” she said.

Figures published for the Summit were collected and analyzed by Horizon Consumer Science and CIC Research, Inc.

SMCVB also called for nominations for the Thelma Parks Tourism Spirit Award to honor exceptional service in the hospitality and tourism industry. Parks served as a travel counselor for SMCVB for 23 years, welcoming visitors to the city almost to the day she died in 2011 at age 97. Winners of the Spirit Award will be selected quarterly and announced each May.

Both international and U.S. visitor volume increased last year, but foreign visitors spent more than domestic guests - $743 million compared to $648 million. Combined, those figures represent more than a 20 percent increase from 2009, prompting Kerns to say, “While business is looking good, we must continue to promote and serve our visitors as they are a life line to our economic health.”