Tourism Bureau to Get Own Board of Directors

As Ventura’s downtown and pier districts undergo cosmetic revitalization aimed at attracting tourists, the city’s Chamber of Commerce is preparing to welcome its first board of directors specifically dedicated to tourism.

Since 1992, the Visitors and Convention Bureau has been governed by the chamber’s board of directors. As of July 1, the bureau will have a separate 15-member governing body.

“On the chamber board, you have financial advisers, CPAs, bankers, real estate people. They’ve all been great, but the knowledge of tourism is not as strong as perhaps it should be for the Convention and Visitors Bureau,” said bureau Director Bill Clawson, who will report to the new board of directors. “People on the new board are being selected specifically for their interest in, and knowledge of, tourism and tourism promotion.”

Thus far, six seats on the proposed board have been filled by local hotel and restaurant operators, and another three seats by representatives of Channel Islands National Park, the Ventura County Fair and the Ventura Port District. The remaining board members will be appointed by the Ventura City Council.

Clawson said much of Ventura’s immediate tourism promotion should emphasize the improvements being made in the community.

“There’s very significant transformation taking place downtown,” he said. “There’s the revitalization of the [Buenaventura] Pier and the new restaurant. Our marketing will have to get those improvements across to our audience.”

According to the California Department of Commerce, tourism brought in $145 million to the city of Ventura in 1994. Clawson said that if the current 60% occupancy rate of local hotels increased to 70%, it would mean an additional $25 million annually.

The bureau has a $357,000 annual budget.

John Walters, manager of the Doubletree Hotel in downtown Ventura, is among those appointed to the tourism board. He said board members will be responsible for deciding how to promote new and existing attractions.

“We have tough things to discuss in the next year--a proposed [minor league] baseball stadium, the potential convention center at the fairgrounds, the proposed marine center at the Harbor and the proposed movie theater complex downtown,” he said.

“They are all waiting to be prioritized.”