If tourists groups are coming to San Benito County, they will
have a better chance of knowing what attractions the area has to
offer, and now local businesses catering to those visitors have a
good chance of bringing in some of those customers.
If tourists groups are coming to San Benito County, they will have a better chance of knowing what attractions the area has to offer, and now local businesses catering to those visitors have a good chance of bringing in some of those customers.
The Tourism Task Force of the San Benito County Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Bureau hopes that is the case with the recent launch of a new concierge service.
Each month, a member of the Tourism Task force rotates into a concierge role in which those residents will actively work with visiting groups’ needs while also trying to connect them with the local business community. And with the new program, the chamber expects to compile a database of tourism groups along with the services in town that can best fit their needs, said Jessica French, President/CEO of the chamber.
“Basically, it’s a database to have on hand so we can help them right away,” she said.
An example where the concierge program came in hand was an R.V. group that visited the county and wanted someone to assist the members with reservations, French said.
She mentioned how the concierge representative could help with outside organizations’ bus tours or filmmakers’ needs.
The idea for the new program came out of the task force committee, members of which felt tourists might stay in the area longer if “someone was actually helping them” with their needs, French said.
Chamber member Scott Fuller, general manager of San Juan Oaks Golf Club, stressed how the concierge service can help visitors and the local “visitor-serving businesses.”
When visitors have come here in the past, they might have gone to one location – such as a restaurant or to film something on a property, Fuller said.
“Other visitor-serving businesses weren’t aware of them being here, and they, the visitors, weren’t necessarily made aware of other attractions here,” he said.
The new concierge program aims to change that trend.
“Hopefully,” Fuller said, “several businesses might benefit from a group coming here, and the group coming here might have a better experience.”
For more information about the program, call the chamber at 637-5315.
