Visit Modesto reports surge in visitors; hotel occupancy up about 11% year‑over‑year

Todd Aronson, chief executive officer of Visit Modesto, gave the council a tourism update, saying the city’s marketing and events have produced strong recent results.

Aronson reminded the council that the Visit Modesto business plan was presented in 2018 and accepted by council in May 2019. He said the organization has focused on improving shoulder‑season occupancy (February, March, August and December) and on visibility in the youth sports market. Aronson highlighted the Almond Blossom Cruise, launched in February 2020 and continued annually, as a driver of interest.

Aronson reported that hotel results were “up over 11% to last year” based on national reporting, and that the city has recently hosted tens of thousands of visitors from countries including South Korea, the United Kingdom, Japan, Australia, France, Canada and India, as well as visitors from across California. He said partners reported sold‑out tour buses and strong retail and restaurant traffic during recent weekends. Aronson noted Visit Modesto’s digital reach, citing about 100,000 users across social channels and roughly 100,000 page views on the Visit Modesto website in the last month.

Council members thanked Aronson and encouraged quarterly updates to the council. Several members praised the visibility generated by national outlets that have featured Modesto, including Forbes, Better Homes & Gardens, Travel + Leisure, National Geographic Traveler and The New York Times.

Aronson closed by thanking Visit Modesto staff and local partners for their work promoting the city’s attractions.