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Salinas receives quarterly update on Welcome Center; assessment pass-through totaled $54,490 for two quarters
Summary
City staff presented a quarterly report on the Salinas California Welcome Center covering July–December 2024. The Welcome Center received a pass-through of roughly $54,490 from the Monterey County tourism-improvement assessment; website and visitation metrics were reviewed.
City staff presented a quarterly report March 4 to the Salinas Finance Committee on the Salinas California Welcome Center’s activity for July 1–December 31, 2024.
Staff explained the Welcome Center’s funding comes from the Monterey County Tourism Improvement District (TID), which collects a $2 per-room-night assessment; the city retains 50 cents per room night and remits the remainder through the pass-through mechanism that funds the Salinas California Welcome Center contract. The City Council previously approved a resolution in January 2023 to support renewal of the TID and increased the assessment from $1.50 to $2.00 per room night.
For the two quarters combined (Q1 and Q2 of the FY reporting period described), staff reported 1,464 visitors to the Welcome Center in quarter 1 and 1,309 in quarter 2. Website posting activity (combined between the local California Welcome Center site and the broader “Soul of California” site that aggregates statewide listings) totaled 97 posts in Q1 and 99 posts in Q2; combined site visits for the two sites were presented as 7,158 for quarter 1 and 6,973 for quarter 2. The report showed combined assessments collected of $55,041; after a 1% administrative/processing deduction the pass-through to the Welcome Center totaled $54,490.
Staff said the current contract term runs through August 31 of the current year and that the program’s compensation is the amount collected and passed through (that is, the city does not obligate more than it collects). Staff also described ongoing coordination with regional partners, including county-level tourism entities, and said staff have met monthly with county marketing partners to align events and lodging outreach. The committee asked for year-over-year comparisons and staff said they would include those in the next quarterly report.
Why it matters
The Welcome Center report is informational; it tracks whether the assessment-funded program is generating visits and marketing content and confirms the pass-through mechanism is working as intended. Committee members asked staff to add comparative data going forward and to continue outreach to hoteliers so lodging providers engage in joint marketing.
Ending
Staff said they will add year-over-year comparisons to the next quarterly update and continue coordination with county partners; no formal committee action or vote was taken on the Welcome Center report.
