Islands Attract More Foreign Tourists

Enticed by pictures of unspoiled coastlines and the promise of a day hike, bird-watching or world-renowned scuba diving, more and more international tourists are descending on Channel Islands National Park.

Although specific figures are not available, many in the hospitality industry say the number of foreign visitors arriving on Ventura’s shores, particularly from Germany and the United Kingdom, is increasing steadily.

Pat and Paul Gaffan of Suffolk, England, came to the park 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 arriving in Ventura County last week.

“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 that tourism leaders and 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.”

The dive shop, which rents scuba equipment, works with dive boat operators to make the excursions as smooth as possible, which Smith said 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.”

Cherryl Connally, public relations director for Island Packers, the authorized concessionaire for trips to Channel Islands National Park, said she has noticed a steady increase in the number of international visitors.

Of the 50,000 or so people who travel to the islands each year, about 30% are from other countries, she said.

Katherine M. Janega-Dykes, executive director of the Ventura Visitors & Convention Bureau, said several of its marketing programs target the international visitor. 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 seminar produced several ideas to make the experience as friendly and convenient as possible, such as providing menu translations and offering to ship purchases to the tourist’s home, said Millie K. Matz, director of sales and marketing for the bureau.

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

Because well-traveled European tourists already have been to the major destinations in California, Matz said, Ventura is trying to capitalize on the desire 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.”

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 those tourists have an affinity for the outdoors.

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