Have you ever thought about how tourism affects Marin County? I bring this up because I was recently in Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii. Once capital of the Hawaiian Kingdom, and famously host town to the annual Ironman competition, Kona is clearly in transition. I know it’s cyclical, and the tourists will return, but all the empty storefronts were shocking. Talking to merchants and hotel owners, they said they miss Canadians, (and all the international visitors) and even, yes, us Californians. “It’s an interesting time,” I heard over and over.
This inspired a deep dive into our visitor stats. We have a great partnership with Marin County Tourism, so I did a little digging, and they use Dr. Rob Eyler of Economic Forensics & Analytics who tracks its tourism activity via a few platforms including Portland-based Dean Runyan Associates, Co-Star and Placer.ai.
According to the research, numbers are looking up! Last year, visitors (80% day-trippers) spent $682 million here in the county. WOW! To be clear, a visitor can be defined as someone who lives 50 miles away and is visiting for the day. Either way, we’ll take it!
This month, one organization we can thank for bringing in visitors is the Mill Valley Film Festival. Since its founding in 1977, MVFF has likely generated tens of millions of dollars in visitor spending for Marin County, including restaurants, retail and lodging. I couldn’t get an exact number, but it seems the 11-day festival contributes between $1 million to $3 million annually. Chances are one of your neighbors is associated with the festival in some way, either as a volunteer, or even one of the core staffers.
How about this? If you know someone — even the volunteers involved in the festival — after October 11, offer to take them out for a drink or meal to show your appreciation. I will, if you will! And thus continues the support of our small businesses.
Speaking of this support, we’ve just launched our Hello Marin social series to highlight happenings, businesses and local tips from our staff. You might recognize the logo from our ill-fated app. Sadly the app was an expensive learning lesson. However, we loved the design and upbeat sentiment, so at least we can justify some of the cost by using the logo. Please let us know if we’ve missed your favorite thing about Marin.
Let’s connect, support and celebrate.
We’d love to hear from you! Contact us at editorial@marinmagazine.com.
Also in this issue you’ll find:
The Bay’s Unsung Climate Superhero: Eelgrass
From Anime Soundtracks to Strawberry Hill Studio: Raj Ramayya’s Journey
An Author’s Misty Sunset: Living on the Water in Marin and Finding Healing During Día de los Muertos
