Last year, Gilroy had been capable of attracting over $350 million in terms of tourism revenue thereby ensuring that the world’s Garlic capital develops into a significant tourism hub in the Silicon Valley. The 38th Annual Garlic Festival is about to approach, and as the summer is within a stone’s throw, the tourism sector of Gilroy is steadily progressing.
Last week, The Gilroy Welcome Center had conducted the Celebrate Tourism week.
The region has lured in a large number of tourists from Sweden Argentina, Brazil and China, and also a number of places in between. They have all dropped in to Gilroy for shopping or to attend events including the Gilroy Garlic Festival or tour the local wineries.
And, luckily for Gilroy, the financial impact has been quite positive so far.
International and domestic tourists had spent nearly $352.3 million here in the year 2016 and this city had collected an additional $1.67 million in Transient Occupancy Tax. The Gilroy Welcome Center is ready, and is open all 364 days of the year though it is shut down on Christmas.
Last year, they had embraced about 38,864 tourists from 40 nations and as many as 50 states.
A partner of Casa de Fruta, Gene H, Zanger who is a commissioner for Visit California had spoken in the presence of regional business owners and city officials. He mentioned that the regional tourism industry has witnessed a promising growth and several people have worked really hard to make every accomplishment seem like a simple process.
Currently, about 40,000 visitors arrive in Gilroy every month.
Jane Howard, the Executive Director of Gilroy Welcome Center said that quite often, a community is unaware about how many dollars a tourist actually ushers into a certain community. The Gilroy Welcome Center is among the 300 Destination Marketing Organizations in California that works with businesses that coordinate with the tourism community in the state.
The Gilroy Art and Wine Stroll will kick start the tourism season this summer.
As much as 100,000 visitors attend the Garlic Festival every year.
