SOLANO COUNTY TOURISM SUMMIT FIRST STEP IN COLLABORATIVE TOURISM EFFORT

NEWS RELEASE Contact: Veronica Ferguson
March 22, 2006 707-784-7902
vaferguson@solanocounty.com

SUMMIT FIRST STEP IN COLLABORATIVE TOURISM EFFORT

FAIRFIELD – The clear message from State and Solano County’s leadership at the first tourism summit was there is a need for a collaborative effort to market the diverse attractions in the county.
The “Bringing Tourists to Solano County” event on Tuesday, March 21, drew more than 50 organizations – many long established and some newly formed – that would benefit from an increase in tourism.

Supervisors John Vasquez and Mike Reagan, of the Board of Supervisors Economic Development and Tourism Committee, strongly emphasized that this initial gathering of the people already working on bringing tourism to their destinations is the first of many baby steps to increase the county’s share of the growing tourism market.
The featured speaker Susan Wilcox, chief deputy director of the California Travel and Tourism Commission, affirmed the supervisors’ remarks that the meeting was the first of many steps on what can be a profitable journey. She said the upward trend for travel and tourism is forecasted to continue, and Solano County’s rural tourism market can be part of that growth.

The success, she said, would be linked to the tourism destinations working together to market themselves as a region.