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EDC, Chamber report steady tourism, business support as visitor center records 1,300 visits since October
Summary
Lake County’s economic development corporation and chamber told supervisors the visitor center recorded about 1,300 visits since October, the EDC documented $1.88 million in local investment tied to its services and has issued a $250,000 IRP loan; the presentation highlighted several training and tourism programs aimed at helping local businesses weather seasonal swings.
Nicole Flora, executive director of the Lake County Chamber of Commerce and the Lake County Economic Development Corporation, updated the board on work the two organizations have done in partnership with the county to support businesses and attract visitors.
Flora said the EDC has obtained 20 new local clients since October, two of which are business starts, and that the organization has facilitated business advising, group trainings and a loan portfolio that produced one new IRP loan of $250,000. "Since the event last year, we've been able to document 1.88 million in investment in local businesses just from our small point of view through the services that we provide," Flora told the board.
On tourism, Flora said the visitor center on Vista Point has recorded roughly 1,300 visitors since October and that about 64% of in‑person engagements request tourism resources. The materials she provided show the majority of visitors contact the center from the U.S. West Coast and a handful have come from places as distant as Denmark and Switzerland. The chamber also distributes the county's official visitors map and has mailed copies nationally; Flora said the 2025–26 edition of Lake Life magazine has circulated more than 3,000 copies since October.
Flora outlined recurring programs and events intended to support local businesses: a finance-your-vision event that connected 12 businesses with 10 funding agencies this year; an annual restaurant expo and restaurant week that, she said, can boost participating restaurants' sales by about 10% during slow months; certified tourism ambassador (CTA) trainings that have certified 19 new ambassadors since October; and a series of workshops to help small food producers expand to market sales.
She also described a wildfire-preparedness event on June 22 organized with the county Office of Emergency Services that will cover local wildfire risk, business continuity planning and post‑disaster recovery resources. "How are you going to pay your payroll if you can't enter your building?" Flora said. The event is designed to help businesses plan for that type of disruption.
Board members asked follow-up questions about web metrics and year‑to‑year visitor comparisons. Flora said the EDC tracks e‑blast open rates and will provide more detail on website hits if staff requests that information. Members welcomed the chamber's outreach and the expanded volunteer coverage that has allowed the visitor center to add some Monday mornings to its schedule.
The presentation closed after Flora summarized ongoing and upcoming outreach, outreach metrics and partnerships with local wineries, farms and nonprofit groups that support tourism and business resilience in Lake County.
