The San Benito County Chamber of Commerce wants to make sure
visitors are aware of the area’s many tourist offerings.
To do so, the chamber has opened a new Visitors Bureau in San
Juan Bautista at Galeria Tonantzin, 115 Third St. Along with the
opening, the organization has altered its official name to reflect
its focus on tourism and it registered with the state as the San
Benito County Chamber of Commerce
&
amp; Visitors Bureau.
The San Benito County Chamber of Commerce wants to make sure visitors are aware of the area’s many tourist offerings.
To do so, the chamber has opened a new Visitors Bureau in San Juan Bautista at Galeria Tonantzin, 115 Third St. Along with the opening, the organization has altered its official name to reflect its focus on tourism and it registered with the state as the San Benito County Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Bureau.
Chamber leaders have wanted to open such a bureau for several years. They had the opportunity through a matching grant this year from the Community Foundation for San Benito County, said Jessica French, chamber president and CEO. The location was ideal with its proximity and various attractions such as Fremont Peak, the Mission, El Teatro Campesino, the State Historic Park, and its slew of boutiques and restaurants.
“San Juan Bautista’s the best spot, we felt, because it’s the gateway to San Benito County and they have a lot of tourist attractions there,” French said.
Scott Fuller, active in promoting tourism for the chamber, noted how the grant from the Community Foundation allowed the chamber to open a Visitors Bureau and also install more signage to promote the county at its entrances.
He said the chamber still is working on the signage.
Fuller pointed out another motivating factor became difficulties at the San Juan Bautista chamber the past couple of years.
“We started talking with people involved within the San Juan Bautista chamber,” Fuller said, regarding tourism promotion there. “We started talking to residents and businesses in San Juan Bautista to see if the chamber could help.”
From the Visitors Bureau location, the chamber will provide information on the wine trail, Pinnacles National Monument, Hollister Hills, downtown Hollister, attractions in Tres Pinos, the city airport, the local candy factory, farm tours, the farmer’s market, earthquake tours, local events and many places of interest, according to an announcement on the opening.
French stressed how the chamber wants to help improve tourism-related revenue in San Benito County.
“It does create a lot of revenue for the county, and we’re pretty fortunate we have a lot of tourist attractions in San Benito County,” she said. “And a lot of people don’t know about them.”
The Visitors Bureau will be open noon to 5 p.m. on Friday through Sunday.
For more information, call 637-5315.
