Where in the world
is San Benito County?
In Sacramento, in the Capitol Building, each California County
has a display case. Monterey’s case promotes the wineries and the
ocean. Many central valley counties highlight their agriculture
production. But San Benito County’s spread almost seems to be a
display of an identity crisis.
Where in the world
is San Benito County?
In Sacramento, in the Capitol Building, each California County has a display case. Monterey’s case promotes the wineries and the ocean. Many central valley counties highlight their agriculture production. But San Benito County’s spread almost seems to be a display of an identity crisis.
Replica fruit fills the case along with images of grapevines, the mission and other historical buildings. Even a miniature plastic motorcycle sits with no explanation in one corner. For visitors to the Capitol, San Benito looks like a hodge-podge. And it gets to the heart of the problem facing San Benito tourism.
We hear it when friends visit from out of town or when we are out of the region. “San Benito? Isn’t that in the Central Valley?” or “Hollister? What is there to do there?”
The truth is there is plenty, but San Benito hasn’t found a way to market itself successfully. If only people knew they could start a vacation with a tasty breakfast somewhere such as Dunneville Cafe or the Country Rose. Then they could tour Mission San Juan Bautista and interact with volunteers who dress up in period costumes.
They could head out of town, stopping at one of many of the regional farms for some locally grown fruit and then stop off at a few wineries in Cienega Valley or continue south to Pinnacles National Monument for some hiking.
San Juan, Tres Pinos and Hollister all offer their share of lunch or dinner offerings from fine cuisine to burger joints.
For those with specific tastes, Hollister Hills offers the best trails for off-road bikes, Tres Pinos has a hand-gliding company and several golf courses offer a good game.
But the problem is people from out of the area – and plenty of people in San Benito – don’t know about all the county has to offer. So many different hands stir the pot of marketing from local businesses to the Hollister Downtown Association to the San Benito Chamber of Commerce. It’s time for all the vested interests – business owners, city and county governments, nonprofits – to get together to make San Benito County a place to go. It will take time – and a marketing budget – but wouldn’t it be great the next time someone asks us where we’re from to say “San Benito” and receive an “oh yeah, that’s a great place to visit.”
