Tourism Industry Update

February 12, 2026

IN THIS ISSUE…

• Visit Santa Cruz County Announces New Accessible Visitor Center
• Growing Earned Media Coverage at Visit California’s New York Media Mission
• Local Wineries Form Assessment District

Visit Santa Cruz County Announces New Accessible Visitor Center

Visit Santa Cruz County (VSCC) has debuted a newly renovated visitor center in Downtown Santa Cruz, adjacent to the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History in the heart of the town. The new center features a sensory-friendly space for travelers with autism that has been infused into the new visitor center design. Weighted blankets, fidget toys, tactile pillows, and a quiet environment are components of the separate space to instill a low-sensory area for the benefit of neurodivergent visitors.  

Each Visit Santa Cruz County staff member received specialized training and are now Certified Autism Travel Professionals through the International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards (IBCCES).  Combined with staff accreditation, the amenities featured in the new visitor center have transformed it into a Certified Autism Center™ (CAC) – one of the only of its kind in Northern California. 

According to a survey by Autism Travel, 87 percent of autistic families don’t take vacations due to the sensory overload involved in travel – including loud noises, dietary changes, and a disruption in routine.  These stressors can cause discomfort and outbursts if not compassionately managed and addressed.    

The new visitor center provides an environment rich with a taste of what the county has to offer in terms of outdoor adventure, family-friendly experiences, field-to-fork and ag-related activities, and art, culture, and creative spaces that draw inspiration from the region’s natural beauty.  

A polished concrete floor with GPS coordinates lays the foundation for the industrial-cool theme, and a floor-to-ceiling map mural identical to the colorful design in the official Santa Cruz County magazine greets visitors. The daily surf report can be seen on a large screen behind the welcome desk, providing real-time weather and tidal information. 

The visitor center welcome desk is crafted from a reclaimed redwood tree, evoking the magnificent heritage forests of the San Lorenzo Valley. The single-piece slab was sourced from a local sawmill near Felton, where the tree either fell naturally or was removed by a tree service and is estimated to be between 200 – 300 years old.  The front of the 14-foot desk – also sourced from local, sustainable redwood – was treated with Shou Sugi Ban, an ancient Japanese wood preservation technique that seals and protects wood, creating a beautiful black color by heavily burning the wood, then gently removing the charred material, and applying a hard wax oil to stabilize and bring out the subtle color tones; however, the natural redwood can still be seen through the burned wood, evoking the element of fire present in California.     

One of the most intriguing features of the visitor center is a separate room where a point-of-view augmented reality video will be played on three walls, portraying a variety of only-in-Santa-Cruz-County activities available to travelers. Mountain biking through demonstration forest, admiring art and wine at a local festival, surfing at Cowell’s Beach, wine tasting at a mid-county vineyard, visiting a you-pick farm, hiking a breezy trail at a state park, perusing locally-sourced produce and artisan-made products at a farmer’s market are just some examples of the immersive content that will envelop visitors, enabling them to experience the destination without leaving the visitor center. 

This newly designed space is where VSCC’s destination concierge will be able to direct visitors to countywide hotels, restaurants, attractions, and parks and beaches. 

Growing Earned Media Coverage at Visit California’s New York Media Mission

Accessible travel, new hotel construction and renovations, wildlife viewing, outdoor experiences, local arts and culture, and the culinary, microbrew and winery scene were all topics of conversation during 24 pre-scheduled appointments with journalists, freelance writers, and editors at International Media Marketplace (IMM), part of Visit California’s annual New York Media Mission held January 20 – 22 in New York City. 

Visit Santa Cruz County Director of Communications Christina Glynn represented the region during this annual industry media mission, which began with an editors brunch with key editors and staff writers from People Inc. (formerly Dotdash Meredith) including Travel + Leisure, Parents magazine, Real Simple, Better Homes and Gardens, Food & Wine and other legacy media outlets. Destinations from throughout California attended this special event, preceding IMM’s one-on-one appointments format with journalists, freelance writers, and editors at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center later that week. 

 Approximately 530 qualified consumer, lifestyle and travel media were in attendance at IMM, including a carefully curated list of regional New York media representatives.  Over 55 California delegates shared destination news and information with representatives in the largest media market in North America. Christina met with domestic media contacts who also contributed to international outlets such as the BBC and Toronto Star, as well as guidebook writers. 

 Highlighting local hotels, restaurants, attractions, state parks and other local businesses through positive media coverage raises Santa Cruz County’s visibility with consumers and potential visitors, supporting the local tourism industry as a whole.

Local Wineries Form Assessment District

For the first time, the over 70 wineries of the Santa Cruz Mountains AVA have joined together to form an assessment district, launching this month following approval from the county board of supervisors in December. This historic move from a membership-based platform to an assessment model means that the Santa Cruz Mountains Winegrowers Association can expand the role it plays in promoting the region’s wineries. The new district began collecting a one percent assessment on direct-to-consumer sales on January 1^st.   

This type of business model can be formed when merchants, attractions, lodging properties or other types of businesses within a certain geographical area agree to form a special assessment district to finance improvements and services that directly benefit properties within the district. The assessments can be made in a number of ways, either by a percentage of the sales each business collects or by passing the cost of the assessment onto visitors, guests or customers.  

The newly-formed Santa Cruz Mountains Wine Heritage District will be managed by the Santa Cruz Mountains Winegrowers Association and is projected to generate more than half a million dollars annually for marketing and promotional efforts. This wine district is one of five in California, joining the Amador County Wine Heritage District, Livermore Valley Wine Heritage District, Santa Barbara County (operating as the “Wine Preserve”) and the Temecula Valley Wine and Agricultural Heritage District. Other wine regions considering or pursuing districts include Sonoma County, Paso Robles, Monterey County, Mendocino County and Lodi. 

The wine industry as a whole has faced challenges in recent years: sober-curious consumer preferences, increased tariffs, natural disasters such as wildfires and the rising cost of doing business have all impacted wineries, vineyard owners and producers – many of them family-owned.  

Visit Santa Cruz County established a Tourism Marketing District in 2010, when the countywide lodging industry showed support of the TMD through the signing of a petition. The sole purpose of the TMD – structured similarly to the Santa Cruz Downtown Association and the Capitola Village Business Improvement Association – was to promote tourism to the region.