June 11, 2026
IN THIS ISSUE…
- Visit Santa Cruz County Continues FIFA World Cup Promotional Efforts As Games Kick Off
- VSCC Hosts Journalists, French Influencers, Mexican Broadcaster
- Santa Cruz County Represented at Largest International Travel Show in the U.S
Visit Santa Cruz County Continues FIFA World Cup Promotional Efforts As Games Kick Off
The FIFA World Cup 26™ games have officially begun! While the first match kicks off in the U.S. tomorrow at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, Bay Area soccer fans are preparing for the games’ debut at Levi’s Stadium on Saturday, June 13th when Quatar and Switzerland go head-to-head at Noon PST. With the excitement of the world class soccer coming to the region ramping up, Visit Santa Cruz County was part of a press event on June 1st to support local events and activations taking place throughout the region during the tournament.
Santa Cruz has been promoted as a ‘Fan Zone’ throughout Bay Area Host Committee content and featured in regional articles:
Bay Area Host Committee Website:
- Neighborhood Guides > Santa Cruz County
- Fan Zones and Watch Parties > Local Event Calendar > Fan Zone at SC Boardwalk
Bay Area Media Coverage:
- Bay Area Host Committee Announces Fan Zones for the FIFA World Cup 2026™ Announcement | Chase Center
Instagram:
- Reporter Jocelyn Moran with NBC Bay Area & Telemundo Bay Area posted about the games on her Instagram account, reaching over 54K views
- The Bay Area Host Committee Partnered with @telemundo48 & @sfbayarea26 to announce SF Bay Area Fan Zones.
Social Media Ad Campaign:
The FIFA digital campaign, running from March 2 through mid-June, incorporates a social media element that began on April 28. By strategic design, Social Media ads are being activated during the mid-to-late campaign timeframe to boost campaign visibility and to allow time for more FIFA events and activations within Santa Cruz County to solidify.
VSCC is leveraging a $5,000 social media budget into targeted ads through Meta – Facebook and Instagram. These ads are being presented to audiences based on specific geo targets and interests (i.e. FIFA, FIFA World Cup, and other professional soccer teams, leagues and players). They are serving as awareness for Santa Cruz County’s proximity to Levi’s Stadium, the activations and events taking place, and to inspire visitors to choose to “Experience FIFA by the Sea” in Santa Cruz County.
Social Media ad objectives include reach/awareness and link clicks to the Kick Off Santa Cruz landing page, as well as FIFA related content such as, Watch FIFA World Cup 26™ by the Sea: 10 Must-Sees in Santa Cruz County and Experience FIFA by the Sea.
The cost per click (CPC) for ads is averaging $0.19 – well below the average CPC for the travel and tourism industry average of $0.63. The campaign’s targeting strategy remains highly focused, prioritizing travel intenders with interests in soccer, sports, World Cup content, and lifestyle attributes aligned with Santa Cruz County, including coastal and redwood experiences. By targeting out of county residents, the campaign ensures that the media investment is directed toward incremental visitation, maximizing its impact on tourism growth.
The campaign is delivering strong performance, effectively balancing large-scale awareness with measurable revenue impact. To date, the campaign has generated 7,300,000 impressions, resulting in 584 bookings and more than $293,000 in enriched hotel revenue, which converts into a 5.75:1 return on ad spend. These results indicate that the campaign is not only reaching a broad audience but also converting that visibility into meaningful economic outcomes.
Beyond topline performance, traveler behavior metrics point to high-quality demand. The campaign is generating an average length of stay of 2.5 nights, suggesting that visitors are engaging more deeply with the destination rather than making short, transactional trips. Additionally, the 21.5-day average booking window demonstrates that the campaign is influencing travelers during the consideration phase, well ahead of their travel dates. With an average daily rate (ADR) of $197.09, the campaign is also maintaining strong rate integrity, ensuring that revenue growth is driven by value, not discounting.
Our efforts extend well beyond the FIFA match dates—this initiative is helping us connect with a new and diverse audience, inspiring future travel and positioning Santa Cruz County as a destination they may choose to visit at a different time.
Visit Santa Cruz County brought a creative, community-driven touch to the celebration by transforming the iconic MAH ball into a soccer-inspired art installation. This reimagined piece will remain on display through the end of the FIFA World Cup, serving as a vibrant symbol of local pride and a gathering point for fans—enhancing the energy of watch parties and creating a shared experience for the community throughout the tournament.
Visit Santa Cruz County is a marketing organization and does not produce events directly but promotes events and activations hosted by other entities such as the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, Parks and Rec and other government agencies, chambers of commerce organizations and small businesses. Our role is to serve as a catalyst, encouraging jurisdictions to apply for an official FIFA event permit so Santa Cruz County can be adequately represented.
VSCC Hosts Journalists, French Influencers, Mexican Broadcaster
March, April and May saw an influx of traditional and non-traditional domestic and international media visit the region, collecting valuable destination information and assets with the support of Visit Santa Cruz County. From The Gray Lady to one of the most prominent broadcasters in Mexico and the Spanish-speaking world, local beaches, state parks and restaurants have been featured across multiple platforms.
As a result of participating in Visit California’s New York Media Mission, Christina Glynn, Director of Communications worked with freelance journalist David Farley who visited the region on assignment for the New York Times’ weekly travel feature story 36 Hours. David, who attended UC Santa Cruz pitched the story ideas he learned during his one-on-one appointment with Christina in New York last January and was assigned the feature, which was published online in mid-April and in print later that month. The La Bahia Hotel & Spa, Sand Rock Farm B+B, Dream Inn Santa Cruz, Mad Yolks, Venus Spirits, The Alley Oop, Nicholson Winery, Mentone, Bad Animal, The Grove Bakery Cafe and Roaring Camp Railroads in Felton and other spots were highlighted in the story. The online story reaches 128,811,475 million readers and has a publicity value of $3,220,287.
Following David’s visit, Via Magazine Editor-in-Chief Whitney Phaneuf visited on assignment, collecting information for a feature story to be published in late 2026/early 2027. Whitney explored Downtown Santa Cruz, Capitola Village, Davenport, the Cotoni-Coast Dairies National Monument, and stayed at the Chaminade Resort + Spa and the La Bahia Hotel & Spa, where she dined at both The View and Low Tide Restaurants, respectively.
Supporting the Chaminade Resort and Spa’s media relations efforts, Visit Santa Cruz County hosted a group of four journalists from outlets such as Yahoo!, Mint Pillow + Lodging, Haute Living SF and others. The group went for a sunset sail aboard The Chardonnay and experienced an in-depth wine tasting at Birichino in Downtown Santa Cruz.
Finally, leading up to the FIFA World Cup Visit Santa Cruz County supported a Visit California-sponsored multi-destination FIFA-themed itinerary with influencers from across Europe and the UK in April. Visit Santa Cruz County hosted two French influencers on a road trip which began on April 5th in San Francisco and ended on April 10th in Southern California. The Dream Inn Santa Cruz hosted the pair, and a Wednesday night sail aboard Chardonnay Sailing Charters was the perfect way to show off the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. A tour of the beach area, including the Santa Cruz Wharf and West Cliff Drive and a morning hike at Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park rounded out the trip. Other influencers from Germany, Italy, and the UK were on separate – but similarly-themed trips concurrently.
In mid-April, Televisa — one of the most prominent broadcasters in Mexico and the Spanish-speaking world — visited California to develop compelling content for broadcast during the FIFA World Cup. Journalist Karla Iberia Sánchez led content development in U.S. and Canadian host destinations with the help of Visit California’s Mexico office. Connecting her with Visit Santa Cruz County, Karla interviewed surfboard shaper Bob Pearson and state parks interpreter Emily Tekler, who provided context around her request to highlight stores that define California’s identity. The segment will air during the World Cup on national television in Mexico, as well as on ViX (Televisa’s Spanish-language streaming platform). The reach is significant, as ViX holds exclusive FIFA World Cup broadcasting rights in Mexico.
Additionally, the Central Coast Tourism Council worked with soccer influencer Kaylyn Kyle to bring her to the region in advance of the FIFA World Cup. Kaylyn began her road trip on Highway 1 at SoFi Stadium and along the route to Levi’s Stadium visited central coast destinations collecting experiences and adventures which she posted to her feed. In Santa Cruz County, she stopped at Capitola Village, dined at Shadowbrook restaurant, visited the Santa Cruz Wharf, Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park and explored the beach area while noshing at The Picnic Basket and Felton’s The Grove Cafe and Bakery. The Hilton Santa Cruz/Scotts Valley hosted her stay.
These opportunities are critical to the success of VSCC’s year-around public relations program. As with other positions in hospitality, public relations is a relationship-based profession and fostering and maintaining connections with media outlets is one of the best ways to provide added value to local hotels, restaurants, retail shops, state parks and museums.
Santa Cruz County Represented at Largest International Travel Show in the U.S.
Continuing the momentum Visit Santa Cruz County has established through consistent presence in foreign markets, staff participated in the U.S. Travel Association’s annual IPW, held in Ft. Lauderdale May 17 – 21, 2026.
Flavia Oliveira, Director of Sales and Travel Trade met with tour operators while Christina Glynn, Director of Communications connected with journalists, freelance writers and editors from key international markets through pre-scheduled one-on-one appointments. Representing Santa Cruz County’s $1.4 billion tourism industry, new hotel construction and renovation, outdoor adventure opportunities, arts and culture and food and drink experiences were shared with travel trade and media representatives over the course of four days. Additionally, Flavia and Christina arranged for meetings with representatives from Visit California’s Australia and Japan offices, as VSCC is planning trade and media missions in these emerging markets in September and November, respectively.
Meetings were generated with trade and media contacts from the UK, South Korea, Australia, Mexico, Canada and Japan – mature and emerging markets for the region. Nearly 5,000 delegates from 60 countries attended IPW this year, with more than 75,000 business appointments connecting the U.S. travel industry with global buyers and media over the course of three days – showcasing US travel destinations, attractions, and hotels from coast to coast.
Visit Santa Cruz County’s presence at IPW helps to secure the region’s position as a key Central Coast destination by increasing international visitation by showcasing the best of what the county has to offer.
Sponsored by the U.S. Travel Association, IPW is the leading international inbound travel trade show, driving and estimated $26 billion in future travel to the United States. Visit California’s high visibility, sponsorship and strong presence at IPW combine to attract tour operators and international media to the various destinations around the state.
VSCC’s international marketing programs are supported by the Tourism Marketing District and are designed to expand Santa Cruz County’s presence abroad, providing additional revenue streams for the hospitality industry during off-season months and economic downturns domestically.
Beach Shuttle Returns for Summer
The Santa Cruzer is back! This shuttle operates weekends and holidays from 11AM to 8PM, with stops at the Del Mar Theatre and Locust Street Garage downtown, and at the Marine Sanctuary Exploration Center near the beach. Rides are $1 each way. The shuttle is an efficient way to direct your guests and visitors to the beach area without worrying about parking. Follow this sweet ride on Instagram @the_santacruzer!
Summer Outlook: California for Californians
A new survey shows that summer travelers are watching their budget this season and are planning accordingly. Commissioned by Current and conducted by Talker Research, the survey showed that 22 percent of travelers are looking to do more day trips or adventures within their own city or state and will be traveling for shorter lengths of time. This ties in well with the top “summer travel trends” predicted for 2026, with the most popular trends being staycations, “quietcations” and “micro-breaks”.
Murray Street Bridge Closure
The City of Santa Cruz has announced that the Murray Street Bridge will be closed beginning this week through September to vehicles, bicycles and pedestrians. This schedule remains subject to change as final construction activities and project coordination continue.
Legislative Update
A bill in the California State Assembly which would require hotels to publicly disclose when federal immigration enforcement agencies, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection, have reservations or contracts at a property is getting pushback from the hotel industry. AB 2721 would further require hotels to post notices identifying the government agency involved and the duration of its stay. The Asian American Hotel Owners Association has stated their opposition to the bill, citing operational, privacy, and legal concerns for hotel owners throughout the state. Approximately 61 percent of California’s hotels, including thousands of small, independent, and family-owned lodging properties are owned by Asian Americans.
Did you know…..Luxury travelers are booking trips for the 2026 FIFA World Cup later than usual but spending more, according to Roadtrips, a luxury sports travel company. Travelers are waiting to see the most exciting matchups before committing, leading to a compressed booking window.