Channel Islands’ Charms Attracting Foreign Travelers

Enticed by pictures of unspoiled scenic coastlines and the promise of a no-hassles jaunt out to Channel Islands National Park for a day hike, bird-watching or world-renowned scuba diving, more and more international tourists are setting their sights on Ventura.

Many in the hospitality industry say numbers of foreign visitors--particularly from Germany and the United Kingdom--on Ventura’s shores are steadily increasing. And the Channel Islands are a big part of the reason.

Of the 50,000 or so people who travel to the islands each year, about 30% are from other countries, said Cherryl Connally, public relations director for Island Packers--the authorized concessionaire for trips to Channel Islands National Park. She added that she has noticed a steady increase in the numbers of international travelers during the last five years.

Pat and Paul Gaffan of Suffolk, England, came to the islands last week with their birding friends Bob and Rita Foskett of Bedford specifically to catch a glimpse of the Santa Cruz Island scrub jay, which is found only on the 24-mile-long island. They learned of the bird and the islands while researching their trip on the Internet.

“It was stunning,” Bob Foskett said.

The foursome flew into Los Angeles International Airport and traveled all over California before landing in Ventura County last week. They rounded out their three-week holiday in Indio, where they hoped to see another rare species of bird.

“I’d like California better if you could just make it smaller--if you took it in a bit around the edges, it would make it so much easier to get around,” Foskett joked.

“There’s great people, great food, great weather,” said Paul Gaffan. “And a lot of nut cases, just like us.”

Their interest in California and specifically Ventura County is a trend tourism leaders and local businesspeople are trying to capitalize on.

“Whoever comes to us, we treat them like royalty--the idea being that good news travels quickly,” said James Smith, owner of Ventura Dive & Sport, which appears as a link on several German Web sites. “We noticed a significant upswing in the European customer base here about six years ago.”

Ventura Dive & Sport rents scuba equipment to visitors who want to explore the undersea world around the Channel Islands, Smith said. The shop works in conjunction with local dive boat operators to make the excursion as hassle-free as possible, which Smith said he’s noticed appeals to the German vacationer in particular.

“They like that it’s very simple for them to contact us and arrange diving trips out to the islands,” he said. “We try to predict what problems they might have. For example, if their English is not so good, we’ll give them a very detailed description of how to get to the boat.”

In the city of Ventura, several of the Visitors & Convention Bureau’s marketing programs target the international visitor, said Katherine M. Janega-Dykes, the bureau’s executive director. Efforts include distributing multi-language color brochures about Ventura, participating in national tourism trade shows that include tour operators from overseas, and being an active member of the Central Coast Tourism Council, which peddles the regional tourism offerings at international trade shows.

The bureau also is working on revamping its Web site to include information in other languages, specifically German and Japanese, Janega-Dykes said.

Part of the effort is local education, as well. Last fall, the bureau sponsored a seminar to teach local businesses how to sell to the international visitor.

“There are an amazing number of ways other businesses can tap into that market too,” she said.

The educational forum produced several ideas to make the experience as friendly and convenient as possible, such as posting decals that say “Welcome to Ventura” in various languages, providing menu translations and offering to ship purchases back to tourists’ home countries, said Millie K. Matz, director of sales and marketing for the bureau.

With countless attractive tourist destinations worldwide, competition is fierce for international travelers, who, studies show, spend more time and money on vacation than Americans traveling domestically do, officials said.

Because many European tourists have already been to the major destinations in California, Matz said, Ventura seems to offer what they want, at least right now.

“The international tour operators are looking for something new and different,” she said.

“We try to focus on our proximity to LAX, and that they can stay by the beach in an affordable seaside community.”

Zoe Taylor, chief executive of the Ventura Chamber of Commerce, agreed that the city’s lack of swarming tourists even during the busy season has turned out to be a plus in the current market.

“The charm of Ventura is that it has maintained the quaintness of California, and that’s what tourists look for--what’s a little different,” she said. About 80% of the local businesses in the city cater to tourists, she said.

The chamber works with the visitors bureau to attract international visitors. The chamber Web site gets about 40,000 hits a month, she said, and many are from people overseas.

Carolyn Bowker-Gonzales, director of sales for the Country Inn & Suites in Ventura, said affordability seems to be a big factor for international tourists who vacation here. Rooms are between $75 and $100 cheaper than in Santa Barbara, and travelers are finding “we’ve got just as much to offer,” she said.

“Santa Barbara has the name,” Bowker-Gonzales added, “but eventually Ventura will too. We do have the freeway named after us.”

But probably the biggest draw, according to the visitors bureau, is Channel Islands National Park. Bureau officials said Germany and the United Kingdom are the top markets for Central California coastal tourism, mainly because these tourists have an affinity for the outdoors.

“They are very adventurous and they love the national parks,” Janega-Dykes said.

And just so long as Southern California remains sunny and the people friendly, the Gaffans and Fosketts say they will continue to come back.

Standing on Island Packers’ boat dock one afternoon last week, quiet-voiced Rita Foskett struggled to be heard over all the boisterous chatter.

“We’ve had a really great time,” she said.

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