By Daily Press staff
A $370,000 visitor’s center is scheduled to be opened in the Santa Monica Place mall next month.
The Convention & Visitors Bureau has signed a five-year lease on the center, the first to open since 1963. The center will assist in servicing more than 100,000 estimated visitors that come to the existing kiosk at Palisades Park each year.
The 1,500-square-foot facility marks the culmination of the bureau’s 10-year plan to expand its walk-in services to drive visitor spending in Santa Monica.
“Harnessing the important international travel by offering a multi-lingual staff, instant hotel reservations and dining/retail suggestions will extend the travel experience in Santa Monica and increase citywide revenues,” said Debbie Lee, a spokeswoman for the visitor’s bureau.
The current visitor’s center has operated continuously for 39 years. In 2000, the five-person staff served 93,869 visitors and in 2001 that number jumped 268 more visitors a day. The visitor’s center in the mall will have three to four people staffed full time, as well as volunteer staff. Visitors can make instant hotel reservations and use interactive computer displays featuring transportation, hotels and restaurants. Internet access, a community room for local groups and a retail outlet is slated for the near future to generate revenue to offset operational expenses.
It is estimated that about 14 million visit Santa Monica Place every year. The visitor’s center will be where the former Japan Travel Bureau was located. The center was funded by a one-time city grant of $225,000 in 1997 and an additional $50,000 was recently awarded to offset operational expenses. Lee said the annual operational costs for the center are $200,000.
The center will be open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 8, 2002. Read the original PDF.