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US - What is the Turlock
Convention and Visitor’s Bureau?
D - Created by the Turlock Chamber of
Commerce, the CVB is an agency of the chamber, marketing
and promoting Turlock as a destination for visitors.
US - What is the purpose of the CVB?
D - The purpose of generating tourism
is to bring visitor dollars into our restaurants, stores
and attractions. This money is used to repair potholes.
It gives our kids better schools and it provides for police
and fire services. Other benefits include: creating jobs
for local residents, decreasing tax dollars, offering
more choices for restaurants, shopping and events, providing
a better quality of life and generating community pride.
US - How does the CVB serve our community?
D - We are an information source willing
to provide phone numbers, directions, and specifics about
Turlock’s events. We provide free promotion for
any event that is open to the community. A lot of the
churches and other groups don’t realize this. If
you are holding an annual event, it can also be promoted
on the Central Valley Tourism Association’s website,
as well as on the California website. The CVB also creates
an annual events calendar, informing visitors and residents
of what is scheduled for the year. If an event has potential
to pull in a large visitor draw, such as a concert, the
CVB will create visitor bags and offer to man an information
booth. We will also book hotels with special discounts
and room blocks upon request.
US – What is your vision for 2009?
D - This year’s focus will be on
the college audience. For instance, we will be welcoming
380 softball students for a tournament April 3 - 5. Through
a special promotion, we will be encouraging those girls
to stay in Turlock by doing something really unique. With
380 goodie-bags assembled, and through partnership with
the Turlock Journal, we will provide discounts at various
businesses. In order to persuade intercity travel, we
are creating a program called “Friends of Turlock.”
Businesses will have a picture frame created with their
company logo on it. The students will participate in a
raffle, where they will be given a map of the city, and
challenged to take pictures of themselves in each frame.
Then students can upload them onto the CVB website. Each
picture will count as an entry into the raffle. We are
hoping businesses will prepare for the influx of students
and demographics by coming up with ideas that will keep
new customers coming back.
We will also be providing our hoteliers with a luncheon
in 2009, offering promotional support while creating a
networking opportunity with other local agencies. Last
year, we invited the Turlock police services to come and
talk about innkeeper laws and how to best work with the
police as issues arise.
Culinary tourism is another focus for 2009. The CVB will
be partnering with the Stanislaus County Round Table in
putting their winter forum together. This will encourage
local restaurants to draw tourists in through promotions
and specials, making Turlock a culinary destination. People
who visit Turlock look for the hole in the wall kind of
restaurant, wanting to find out where the locals like
to eat.
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US - How are new residents
in Turlock reached?
D - A little over 1,000 visitor packets
are handed out each year. These packets include information
about Turlock, important numbers, a list of the chamber
members, as well as a yellow-page directory on various
topics.
US - How can a Turlock
resident benefit first hand from the CVB’s services?
D - I would guess that many people
don’t know how many treasures we have here in
Turlock. A self-guided tour has been created on CD.
We encourage every Turlock resident to jump into their
car to discover what this area has to offer. Starting
at the Fruit Yard, this three and a half hour narration
takes you to Turlock Lake, down Geer road, with highlights
about the college, taking you through Medic Alert’s
history, into down town with wine tasting, art galleries
and theater performances, then on to some rich history
about the fair grounds, finishing at Monte Vista Crossing.
You can purchase a CD for $5.00 at the Turlock Chamber
of Commerce, 115 S. Golden State Boulevard.
US - How did you get employed with
the CVB? What kind of work did you do before?
D - I worked with the Chamber of Commerce
prior to this, doing their events and communications.
I’ve never worked in tourism before, but I am
very lucky to have the boss I have. She believes in
me, seeing that I do have the strengths needed to fill
this position. My predecessor has come by to offer me
pointers and tips, walking me through various projects.
She helped me understand the CVB, how it works, what
it does, and how I can make it better.
US – Has the
economy’s downfall affected the CVB? If so, how?
D - The economy has affected the CVB.
Hotel occupancy rates decreased in 2008. That has a
direct affect on the CVB because Transient Occupancy
Taxes drop. The City of Turlock pays the CVB a percentage
from this fund.
To combat the dip in hotel sales, we have boosted our
community funding this year. We believe that helping
event promoters with sponsorships will encourage them
to continue to hold great events in Turlock. (Events
such as: CSUS’ Fireworks Extravaganza, Kool Kars
for Charity Car Show, and the Back Country Horsemen’s
Rendezvous.)
US - Where do you see the CVB in the
next five years?
D - I would really like to see the
CVB be able to support three full-time staff members.
If we had a convention center or a large event center
here in the community, we could start modeling ourselves
after Stockton’s CVB. I would like to see Turlock
become a destination city, possibly a wedding destination.
For more information about the Turlock Convention and
Visitor Bureau, you can visit their website at www.visitturlock.org.
If you would like to purchase a CD tour of the South
County for $5.00, you can pick one up at 115 S. Golden
State Boulevard. You may reach Desa Basulto by calling
(209) 632-2221 or emailing her at desa@visitturlock.org.
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