City Council: Heritage Valley Tourism Bureau urges financial support
March 30, 2016
By Peggy Kelly
Santa Paula News
It’s time for the City Council to again invest in the economic future of the Heritage Valley by promoting tourism the representative of the area visitors’ bureau said at the March 21 meeting.
The Heritage Valley Tourism Bureau, according to Executive Director Talia Wunder, was created in 1997 “as a economic initiative to promote tourism in our valley,” including Santa Paula, Fillmore, Lake Piru and the nationally designated historic landmark Rancho Camulos.
The concept of turning the Santa Clara River Valley into a cultural tourism draw was supported by “One-hundred percent of travel industry experts” that toured the area and would support the area as a tourism destination.
Wunder said “It was a simple goal but very daunting…almost twenty years later some things have changed, some have stayed the same but what hasn’t changed is the importance of promoting the Heritage Valley,” as a tourist destination.
The potential she added is tremendous but its surface has just been scratched: “The United States Travel Association promotes,” tourism as an industry that spurs job growth, jobs “that can’t be outsourced…local spending brings higher tax revenues.”
Wunder, who is also the film liaison for the city, said she has experienced firsthand the impression Santa Paula makes on filmmakers who often come back to the city after work is done.
“We’ve had film crews coming back to Santa Paula,” to eat and relax, including one party of about 40 that later visited Rabalais’ after noticing it while on an area film shoot.
Tourism in 2014, said Wunder generated $1.4 billion in revenue nation wide, “Enough to pay every firefighter and police officer in the county…”
In recent years Santa Paula’s reputation has suffered: “Oxnard has suffered a similar reputation of gang violence as Santa Paula has in the past, but you would never know it if you search online,” and read the glowing reports of travelers.
Oxnard said Wunder, “Has done a wonderful job of promoting themselves,” as a destination including their numerous large festivals.
In addition to “building a strong tax base, tourism attracts more visitors and more businesses and more people who live here…I hear all the time from people that visited Santa Paula,” and said they would like to move to the city.
Santa Paula has much to offer with its museums and special events, as do others in the Heritage Valley.
“Our marketing plan revolves around our brand…‘Step back to a simpler time’ sums it up, but,” said Wunder, “we can’t follow through because of the lack of funding,” for marketing.
When the HVTB was first formed the County of Ventura, Fillmore and Santa Paula committed the funding for marketing purposes. As the economy weakened the funding was reduced or, in Santa Paula’s case, discontinued.
Wunder said one concern expressed among HVTB members or potential members is that the bureau is “An extension of Fillmore and Western Railway…it is not and has been not,” since she joined the bureau.
Fillmore and Western, she added, “When they were involved was a huge contributor,” that paid to staff the office on a full-time basis and whose marketing drew visitors to other areas of the Heritage Valley.
The bureau now has annual revenue of about $20,000 used to pay small salaries, purchase office supplies and to fund marketing.
“The bulk” of the $6,000 left for marketing is spent on the HVTB website and brochures of the Heritage Valley highlighting events and businesses that are distributed to 70 locations throughout Southern California including at Burbank Airport.
Print advertising, she noted, is shared by HVTB members; Santa Paula Wunder said, has about 13 members.
Overall, she noted, “I hope the city of Santa Paula will reconsider partnering in the future, as it has in the past…”
