Tourism leaders on Wednesday highlighted the increasingly interconnected role the industry plays across Santa Barbara’s broader economy, making the case that tourism extends far beyond hotels, restaurants and wine tasting rooms.
At Visit Santa Barbara’s 2026 Annual General Meeting at Rosewood Miramar Beach in Montecito, speakers repeatedly pointed to tourism’s growing intersection with agriculture, sports, arts, small business and the community’s identity itself.
The luncheon, themed “Powered by Tourism: Supporting Our Community,” brought together hospitality executives, civic leaders, restaurateurs, tourism stakeholders and local business owners for a broader conversation about tourism’s role across the South Coast economy.
Visitors to the Santa Barbara South Coast spend more than $2.2 billion annually, support more than 15,000 local jobs and generate nearly $83 million in state and local tax revenue, according to Visit Santa Barbara.
“Hospitality here is not just an industry. It’s personal,” Visit Santa Barbara President and CEO Kathy Janega-Dykes told attendees during opening remarks. “It’s the hotel team welcoming a guest back year after year, the restaurant owner greeting regulars by name, the winemaker, the artist, the farmer, the fisherman, the musician, the shop owner, all of the people who create the feeling of this place.”
Janega-Dykes said the region experienced especially strong tourism momentum this spring after a relatively flat first half of the fiscal year.
From February through April, hotel occupancy reached 74.4%, up 10.6% over the same period last year, while average daily rate rose 10.2% to $323 and revenue per available room climbed nearly 22% to $240.
She attributed part of that strength to travelers booking closer to their travel dates, warmer spring weather and increased demand from California drive markets.
“We are also hearing that some travelers are choosing to stay closer to home, whether because of the cost of travel, concerns about flying, delays, or uncertainty around international travel,” Janega-Dykes said. “That works to our advantage because our primary visitor base includes Los Angeles and other major drive markets that are just a short trip away.”
The program also highlighted FIFA World Cup 2026-related initiatives, including Visit Santa Barbara’s efforts to help bring the national teams of Austria and Qatar to the South Coast for training camps.
Together, the teams are expected to generate more than 5,500 hotel room nights, according to Visit Santa Barbara.
Local hotels, restaurants, museums and wellness businesses are also preparing FIFA-themed promotions and visitor experiences ahead of this summer’s tournament.
Moderated by Bradley Cance, general manager of The Ritz-Carlton Bacara, Santa Barbara, the panel discussion featured Santa Barbara Zoo President and CEO Charles Hopper, Acme Hospitality Managing Partner Sherry Villanueva and UC Santa Barbara Director of Athletics Kelly Barsky.
Panelists discussed the growing importance of experiential tourism, authenticity and community connection in shaping Santa Barbara’s identity as a destination.
Villanueva reflected on the evolution of the Funk Zone and the role hospitality businesses played in transforming the district into one of the city’s defining visitor destinations.
“Our entire company was based on a big risk about 15 years ago,” Villanueva said. “We really went all in to contribute to a neighborhood that had incredible roots in the arts, incredible roots in the local community and a deep connection to the ocean.”
Barsky described athletics as another platform for community connection, particularly as Santa Barbara prepares for FIFA World Cup-related activity and broader sports tourism opportunities.
“Athletics is a platform for connection,” Barsky said. “Our mission is to serve and connect student-athletes and our community.”
Hopper said attractions such as the Santa Barbara Zoo can help encourage visitors to extend their stays and explore multiple destinations throughout the region.
“If it’s good for locals, it’s good for visitors,” Hopper said. “If you’re designing with the local community in mind, that’s what visitors are attracted to as well.”
Before and after the luncheon, attendees moved through Visit Santa Barbara’s “Community Connections Showcase,” a marketplace-style installation designed to illustrate tourism’s broader economic reach across the South Coast.
The showcase featured build-your-own floral bouquets, candles, soap, heirloom tomatoes, fresh produce, Sunstone wine and the brand’s award-winning sparkling functional beverage, SOLIS.
Participating businesses included local growers, makers and hospitality-adjacent brands, underscoring the argument that visitor spending reaches well beyond traditional lodging and restaurant sectors.
Janega-Dykes said the showcase was intentionally designed to demonstrate the ripple effect tourism has across agriculture, retail, artisan goods and small-business sectors throughout the region.
The meeting also highlighted Santa Barbara’s continued national visibility as a travel destination, including Travel + Leisure naming the city one of the Best Places to Travel in 2026.
Still, speakers acknowledged increasing competition among destinations throughout California and beyond.
“That feeling, what Visit Santa Barbara calls the ‘Santa Barbara Effect,’ is one of our greatest strengths,” Janega-Dykes said. “But we cannot take it for granted. At the end of the day, our goal is not simply to bring more people here. It is to shape tourism in a way that supports the community we all care so deeply about.”
