Solvang’s contract for its visitor center is up in June, but the process of receiving contract proposals left the City Council wanting a more unified vision for tourism marketing.
During the May 10 meeting, the council voted to extend the city’s current contract with Central Coast Marketing for visitor center operations from June to September. In addition to the contract extension, the center’s hours and days of operation were pushed from four days a week to seven from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The City Council neither voted to definitively stick with its current operator, Central Coast Marketing, nor did it vote to switch to the Solvang Chamber of Commerce—which both submitted contract proposals. City Manager Xenia Bradford recommended that the visitor center be operated by a marketing contractor or the chamber of commerce.
According to the city staff report, if the chamber managed the visitor center it would streamline connections between the center’s operations and local businesses. However, if a marketing provider helmed the center, it would strengthen the center’s marketing message.
The two contract proposals were starkly different, which many council members said was a testament to the lack of one cohesive idea for what the visitor center should be. The chamber’s proposal focused on website brochures, and Central Coast Marketing empahsized social media and in-person operations.
Councilmember Robert Clarke said he was hesitant to vote on an operations provider because the city lacked a concrete vision of its brand.
“I would urge us to have a—and I hate doing this but—a reset on all of our tourism marketing and visitor center information. I want to have a better setup, and I would want to have a committee, if you will, to set concrete goals for what this council and what the city wants its brand to be … and how we’re going to appeal to our visitors,” Clarke said.
Solvang’s events, tourism marketing, and business support come from three different avenues—Central Coast Marketing, the Solvang Chamber of Commerce, and IDK Events. Each has its own following and each plays a different role in attracting visitors to the city.
The council moved for each council member to send their ideas and criteria for visitor center management to the city manager for review in an effort to create a unified vision for managing tourism.
This article appears in May 20-27, 2021.