The Travel Forecast - Visit Santa Cruz County

March 17, 2022

Get Involved in VSCC’s Conference and Wedding Programs!

For those businesses wanting to target meetings, conferences, events, and weddings, VSCC’s Digital Partnership Program provides maximum exposure, including a landing page on www.visitsantacruz.org featuring your company description, photography, and a direct link to your website.

Other benefits include a comprehensive meetings destination guide, promotional videos, and curated collateral materials featuring Santa Cruz County’s brand message and your business. A great way to get in front of conference, meeting, and event planners. Wedding services industries and venue-related businesses also receive a customizable landing page, are included in the official VSCC Wedding Planning Kit collateral mailed to people who request it. The planning kit is always available at our main visitor center on Water Street in Santa Cruz. It is also the primary fulfillment vehicle, promising referrals to event planners seeking a wedding venue or service information in Santa Cruz County. For more information about either of these programs, contact Flavia Oliveira, Director of Sales and Marketing for more information.

Trail Construction Begins in San Vicente Redwoods

Next month, construction will begin on an initial eight miles of trails at San Vicente Redwoods. Part of what will become an overall 38-mile multi-use equestrian-friendly trail system, this first phase of trails will open in the fall. Construction plans have been revised in response to impacts of the CZU wildfire. These redwoods will be another destination asset that is sure to draw visitors to the region for hiking, mountain biking, and interpretive programs.

Trail construction plans have been revised in response to the impacts of the CZU wildfire, including removing nearly 1,000 burned “hazard” trees from the trail areas to ensure safety for building crews and future visitors. Trail construction will continue over the next three to five years and may include connections to other trail systems in the area, including those being established this year at the adjacent Cotoni-Coast Dairies unit of the California Coastal National Monument.

The 8,852-acre San Vicente Redwoods area is a model of environmental conservation, including: restoration of the property’s 912-acre preservation reserve containing some old-growth redwoods; 3,951 acres of the previously logged forest; eight creeks; and a 320-acre former ranch that is home to redwoods, grasslands and oak woodlands. Management of 3,669 acres of working forest will ensure sustainable timber harvesting and retain forestry jobs. The entire property includes critical habitat for many regionally significant species of wildlife, including endangered Coho salmon, marbled murrelet, pumas, and peregrine falcons. Portions of the land include stands of the threatened Anderson’s manzanita.

The Land Trust of Santa Cruz County, Sempervirens Fund, Save the Redwoods League, and the Peninsula Open Space Trust are working closely with the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, and the Amah Mutsun Land Trust, formed in 2013 as a vehicle for tribal members to return as stewards to their land. In collaborating with these two entities, the organizations’ goal is to inform current plans with the cultural practices and deep knowledge shared by the Indigenous peoples who stewarded this land for millennia.

Peninsula Open Space Trust and Sempervirens Fund jointly own the property; Save the Redwoods League holds a permanent conservation easement on the land. The Land Trust of Santa Cruz County is developing and will manage, the property’s public access trail system.

California Wildfire Season Approaching

With nearly 87 percent of California in a severe drought coming out of a dry winter, a new U.N.-backed report indicates that the number of extreme wildfires is expected to increase 50 percent globally by the end of the century – and that the focus remains on response rather than prevention. According to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, the five largest blazes recorded in California have all occurred since 2018. With wildfires’ impact on tourism in California, including far-reaching impacts on crossover industries like viticulture impacting the $40 billion wine industry, there are plans in place to mitigate the occurrence of fires in regions previously affected, such as the San Lorenzo Valley.

Locally, underground power lines will be installed next year in areas of the county that are more at risk for wildfires: between Felton and Scotts Valley, from Scotts Valley to Santa Cruz, and east of Capitola. PG&E plans to underground 3,600 miles of its roughly 125,000 miles of power lines throughout the state by 2026. The final goal is to put 10,000 miles of power lines underground in California. Unlike above-ground power lines that have sparked wildfires with vegetation, underground lines are protected from vegetation, weather, collisions, and accidents.

PG&E is planning online meetings with Santa Cruz County residents in June to discuss the utility’s wildfire prevention strategies. However, Assemblymember Bruce McPherson’s office stated that this strategy is not going to be practical due to the limited amount of underground wiring planned over the next few years – and that the longer-term underground power line projects should be complemented by shorter-term projects to insulate wires, as they generally do not spark fires as easily as uncovered lines.

The state is reviewing a Wildfire Prevention Plan submitted by PG&E which includes pre-emtive public safety power shutoffs, additional wildfire cameras and weather stations, vegetation management, covered power lines, and the expansion of “fast trip” systems to shut off power – which as some residents of the San Lorenzo Valley have pointed out also shuts down medical equipment,

Save the Date: CHLA Legislative Summit

Mark your calendars for the California Lodging Industry Legislative Action Summit on April 6^th! CHLA members will gather from all over the state in Sacramento for presentations on legislative and regulatory issues and visit with key Assembly Members and Senators to discuss relevant policy measures. Other activities include a Legislative Issues Briefing on relevant lodging industry topics, national updates from American Hotel & Lodging Association and the Asian American Hotel Owners Association, and virtual lobbying sessions with legislators and their staff. Register and learn more here.

Face Masks and Sanitizer Available

A limited supply of disposable face masks and hand sanitizer are available to VSCC partners for the upcoming holiday season. Masks are available on a first-come, first-served basis and can be picked up at VSCC’s offices, 303 Water Street Ste 100 in Santa Cruz, Monday – Wednesday. Advanced arrangements must be made. Email VSCC if you would like a supply.

Partner News

Welcome to Cynthia De La O, new VSCC partner Trudie Ransom of Sup Shack will take the helm at Leadership Santa Cruz County, where she has accepted the position of Executive Director. VSCC welcomes Josh Chirino, new General Manager of the La Quinta Inn & Suites by Windham Santa Cruz. And Tracey Weiss has been named the new executive director of the O’Neill Sea Odyssey.

Alaska Airlines Debuts Flight Pass

Alaska Airlines has just added a unique way to book and pay for flights across the West Coast. Staring at $49 per month, Flight Pass allows subscribers to take a flexible roundtrip flight every two months within California, and from California to Arizona and Nevada, two of Santa Cruz County’s major interstate travel markets to Mineta-San Jose International Airport. This fixed monthly price alleviates any worries about fare increases for upcoming trips. Upgrades for monthly flights, two flights per month, and last-minute travel are also available. Alaska Airlines currently offers flights to San Jose from Los Angeles, Palm Springs, San Diego, Reno/Tahoe, and Las Vegas.

Did you know……

that free one-hour tours will be offered the second weekend of the month on both Saturday and Sunday from Noon to 1PM of the Loch Lomond Recreational Area aboard the Newell Jewel pontoon boat starting in April? These tours can accommodate up to 25 people, on a first-come, first-served basis. The Loch Lomond Recreation Area provides a range of activities including boat rentals, picnicking, fishing, hiking, natural resources interpretive programming. Staff also provide surveillance and security on surrounding City watershed lands and riparian conservation areas.