Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Tourism drops sharply for month through March 23

But it may be premature to tie decline to advertising spat

New data from Smith Travel Research show that occupancy in San Diego hotels dropped 4.3% for the four weeks ended March 23, according to Jerry Morrison, Encinitas-based hotel guru. This was the sharpest decline among the 25 largest markets in the U.S. However, it is too early to conclude that the lack of tourism advertising, a result of the differences between Mayor Bob Filner and the Tourism Marketing District, is the villain, according to Morrison. "It's too early to make that cause and effect connection, although it may prove to be absolutely true and may prove to be prophetic," he says. Actually, the third week in March was up from a year earlier, "and by the end of the month this may fix itself," he says. Morrison is concerned that salespeople working for TMD may depart and go with tourism promoters in Anaheim, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Las Vegas, "and we could be coming from behind [in selling convention center space] for five years." He is also worried that cuts in defense spending could hurt San Diego tourism.

As reported by Dorian Hargrove of the Reader Tuesday (March 26), and by the Union-Tribune Monday, Joe Terzi of TMD blames the stalemate between the mayor and hoteliers for weaker statistics in February. The new data in this post update Hargrove's Tuesday post.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

Not enough Readers in Mission Beach

Mayor Todd Gloria's skin color
Next Article

Pet pig perches in pocket

Escondido doula gets a taste of celebrity

New data from Smith Travel Research show that occupancy in San Diego hotels dropped 4.3% for the four weeks ended March 23, according to Jerry Morrison, Encinitas-based hotel guru. This was the sharpest decline among the 25 largest markets in the U.S. However, it is too early to conclude that the lack of tourism advertising, a result of the differences between Mayor Bob Filner and the Tourism Marketing District, is the villain, according to Morrison. "It's too early to make that cause and effect connection, although it may prove to be absolutely true and may prove to be prophetic," he says. Actually, the third week in March was up from a year earlier, "and by the end of the month this may fix itself," he says. Morrison is concerned that salespeople working for TMD may depart and go with tourism promoters in Anaheim, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Las Vegas, "and we could be coming from behind [in selling convention center space] for five years." He is also worried that cuts in defense spending could hurt San Diego tourism.

As reported by Dorian Hargrove of the Reader Tuesday (March 26), and by the Union-Tribune Monday, Joe Terzi of TMD blames the stalemate between the mayor and hoteliers for weaker statistics in February. The new data in this post update Hargrove's Tuesday post.

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.