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# British invasion a boon to city
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/british-invasion-a-boon-to-city/
- Published: 2005-11-08T16:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T08:07:39.000Z
- Author: Carolyn Sackariason
- Tags: local, Santa Monica, #archive-import

*Welcome to Santa Monica: Tourism thrives*

CITYWIDE — The city of Santa Monica is glad you came.

Tourism has proven to be an enduring economic workhorse for the local economy, pumping in more than $840 million for local coffers in 2004 alone, with even more expected this year.

The lion’s share of Santa Monica scenetakers continue to hail from the United Kingdom, a trend that predates the 2001 terrorist attacks — which caused a major slump in the tourism industry.

Acknowledging the similarities in lifestyles between the UK and Santa Monica, local tourism officials have aggressively marketed in Britain for years. Other cities are now catching on.

“After 9-11, all the reports came out that UK travelers were still moving and that segment started growing, that’s when all the other destinations started marketing. So now, in our corner, everybody is picking off of us,” said Misti Kerns, president and CEO of the Santa Monica Conventions & Visitors Bureau. “That makes it more difficult.”

With a limited marketing budget, the CVB rarely places advertisements in overseas publications, instead relying on relationships already established and written travel articles spotlighting the city. CVB officials estimate that in 2004, Santa Monica has received the equivalent of $5 million worth of advertising through such articles.

A recent study shows the next surge in tourism here will come from Japan, and they will likely be different types of travelers — younger, with more disposable income and primarily women who plan shopping excursions, according to Kerns.

But how the CVB markets to them remains a question.

“Japan, I absolutely think, will be the growing market,” Kerns said. “We would like to market there — part of that is risky. Do you pull out of doing something in the UK? Do you back off of something that has been producing strongly, consistently?”

Kerns’ strategy is to keep a foot in as many markets as possible by building up relationships with other tourism officials, including partnering with what some would consider the competition — namely Los Angeles and other Westside cities.

“I encourage people to go to Beverly Hills, but come back here to stay,” Kerns said. “Part of success is working with other people. I don’t know if that would’ve happened before 9-11\. It made everybody rethink.

“There is a new normal.” Following the terrorist attacks, LA tourism officials decided that one way to beat the economic downturn was to band together and market the area collectively. Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, West Hollywood and Marina del Rey have been working together on marketing plans in an effort to attract segments throughout the world.

“I’m a big partner person — we’ve been partners with the state travel division and five other travel destinations for the past three years because none of us on our own can afford to have a rep sitting in London selling our destination, so we combine our efforts,” Kerns said. “We need to have a balance so if there is a crisis in the UK we don’t fall apart.

“We are diversified enough that, regardless of world affairs, we are going to get a little bit of each of those who we stay in touch with,” Kerns added. “If we had been totally dependent upon the Japanese and Asian markets when 9-11 happened, we wouldn’t be having this conversation because I would have lost my job.”

The CVB recently partnered up with Palm Springs, sharing public relations representation in the UK.

“It works because people coming for the long haul aren’t going to just come to Santa Monica and then go home,” Kerns said. “We work with Santa Barbara, San Diego, and Big Bear wants to do something with us this year.”

New Zealand, which the CVB started to market in four years ago, comes in as second to the UK for travelers to Santa Monica. Germany also proves to be a strong tourism market for Santa Monica, and Canada continues to be a consistent drive-market here, based on a recent study.

“Canada came up for the very first time as a drive market,” Kerns said. “I didn’t believe it. But after 9-11, people weren’t flying and gas wasn’t astronomical. And they still are coming.”

There were 4.74 million tourists who came to Santa Monica in 2004, compared to 3.81 million in 2000\. They spent $840.6 million last year, compared to $787.9 million in 2000.

Of that, $242.9 million was spent on shopping; $196 million on meals; $188 million on hotels and $80 million on beverages.

How that translates into the local economy comes in a variety of forms, mostly in hotel bed and sales taxes. In 2004, City Hall received $20 million in hotel tax revenue and $5 million in sales tax revenue. About 9,300 jobs in Santa Monica are supported by tourism.

In an industry that’s susceptible to security concerns and the global economy’s strength, local officials aren’t taking it for granted that the levels will remain.

“I don’t know how possible it is to stay at this level, it’s pretty high right now,” Kerns said in an earlier interview. “One of the ways to ensure that we are is to keep thanking the people that come so they come back.”

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on November 8, 2005.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/110805.pdf?ref=smdp.com)