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Eureka’s Welcome Center reports visitor growth and holiday programming; staff offers Placer AI data

City of Eureka City Council · February 4, 2026

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Summary

City staff reported a 26% year‑over‑year increase in Welcome Center visitors (24,200 tracked in 2025) and presented Placer AI and social‑media metrics, new tourism partnerships and a holiday recap including HTA‑run home‑tour guides and a district marketing campaign.

City staff delivered the first annual overview of the Welcome Center, reporting rising visitor counts, new partnerships and a holiday programming recap aimed at driving longer stays and support for downtown businesses.

Madison Green, who oversees economic development projects and the Welcome Center, told the council the center is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is staffed by seven part‑time concierges. Green said concierges tracked more than 24,200 visitors in 2025—a 26% increase from 2024—and presented Placer AI aggregate‑cell‑phone data showing a 2025 Old Town footprint of roughly 1,200,000 visitors (Green noted this figure excludes employees and residents in the footprint).

Green credited the welcome center’s designation as an official California welcome center, partnerships with Visit California and Visit Eureka, and targeted holiday advertising for the increased visitation. She described an expanded call for locally led tours (history, architecture, public art and specialty events such as ghost tours), influencer outreach to amplify Eureka’s story, and an HTA partnership that offered free guided tours of homes registered for a holiday home‑tour competition.

On social media, Green said Visit Eureka saw large gains after the holiday content push: a reported 788% increase in Facebook profile visits and a 292% increase on Instagram. Green offered to provide council members with feeder‑market breakdowns from Placer AI on request and explained Placer AI’s methodology, saying the platform uses aggregate phone‑location patterns to distinguish residents and employees from visitors when configured that way.

Council members thanked staff and asked for follow‑up details, including a Eureka‑specific work plan and historical trend slides for 2020–2024. Green invited consultant Emily Kirsch (Visit Eureka) to present deeper analytics at a future meeting and said the city will continue annual welcome center reporting.