Carlsbad

With $100,000 in financial assistance from the City Council, the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce is launching an ambitious marketing program for tourism development. Chamber Vice President Doug Yavanian said the program will involve the creation and distribution of high-quality brochures and other advertising about Carlsbad and will allow the city “to be competitive in a highly competitive tourist market.” The chamber’s existing effort in tourism development, Yavanian said, “is piecemeal, not at all adequate.” The new program is particularly important because the number of hotel and motel rooms available in Carlsbad will increase by more than 1,000 over the next month, said Yavanian, who established a similar promotion program for Escondido. The council voted 3-2, with councilmen Mark Pettine and Claude Lewis opposed, to award the money Tuesday night.