Visit Oxnard President and CEO Brittney Hendricks presented the Oxnard Convention and Visitors Bureau’s fiscal year 2024–25 annual report to the Oxnard City Council on Oct. 21 and reviewed marketing performance, partnerships and upcoming projects. The council received the report (receipt on file); no council action was required.

Hendricks said Visit Oxnard’s work seeks to drive overnight stays and local spending by moving travelers from awareness to booking. “Our mission is to drive tourism and overnight visitation by building awareness of Oxnard, improving the perception of Oxnard to residents and visitors and growing our audience,” Hendricks told the council.

The bureau reported fiscal year 2024–25 hotel metrics of 67.9% average occupancy and an average daily rate of $183.43, which the presentation noted was the highest in Ventura County. Visit Oxnard said website traffic fell year over year, but that engagement rose: pages per session increased 17% to 1.95 and average session duration rose 237% to two minutes, 18 seconds. The bureau said top geographic referral markets included Los Angeles, Oxnard, San Jose, Dallas and parts of Mexico.

Visit Oxnard reported a digital and social footprint of more than 82,000 followers across platforms, a general tourism e‑newsletter list of roughly 14,000 with a reported average open rate of 56% (compared with an industry average cited in the presentation of 15.7%), and earned media placements in outlets that included the Los Angeles Times, Condé Nast Traveler and VisitCalifornia.com. The bureau said a three‑month Expedia campaign returned $6.80 in bookings for every ad dollar spent, generating about 1,500,000 impressions and roughly 1,000 rooms booked.

Hendricks described Visit Oxnard’s mix of “owned, earned and paid” media, trade‑show attendance and destination stewardship, and noted the bureau manages filmoxnard.com to attract location shoots. She said Visit Oxnard accepted approximately $1.5 million in ARPA funds to support destination marketing and some projects for fiscal years 2021–23 and that most of those specific projects have concluded but some ongoing activities continue.

Council members praised the bureau’s outreach and asked about community representation in marketing. Councilwoman Perez said she wanted continued emphasis on reflecting the city’s cultural histories and small businesses in marketing materials; Hendricks said Visit Oxnard has a multicultural marketing manager and continues to attend community events to build partnerships. Council Member Starr noted hotel operators’ support for the bureau and said that lodging businesses’ willingness to pay a 2% assessment demonstrated perceived value.

Hendricks also noted pipeline projects: the presentation identified three planned hotels that together would add about 424 rooms over the next one to three years and mentioned a collaborative campaign with a local craft distillery and a new restaurant opening at Fisherman’s Wharf in spring 2028.

The council did not vote on policy or funding in response to the presentation. The report was entered as a receipt on file and Move on to subsequent items on the agenda.

Ending: Visit Oxnard’s presentation outlined marketing metrics, partnerships and near‑term projects the bureau says will support hotel and hospitality businesses; council members commended the bureau’s outreach and asked that future work continue to reflect residents’ cultural heritage.