Discover Coronado News

Last year showed a dramatic improvement in Coronado’s economic health – ­with visiting groups producing $113.5 million in direct spending and a total economic impact of $164.1 million – according to a sweeping 2022 economic impact report released by Discover Coronado.

• The overall hotel occupancy rate recovered to 66.1% in calendar year 2022 due to a resurgence in group meeting occupancy.
• Group occupancy more than doubled to 27.5% in 2022. Coronado hosted over 74,000 group meeting attendees last year, a 141% increase from 2021. That total is still 22% lower than 2018.
• Group meeting attendees represent $1,524 in revenue on average during their convention, about $401 per visitor, per day.
• Due to the pandemic, group room nights plummeted 76% in 2020, and although that figure rose 66% in 2021, it remained historically weak. Group room demands’ recovery began in earnest in 2022, with a 140% rise from 2021.
• Groups alone support 11% of all jobs in Coronado. A total of 950 jobs were directly sustained by business travelers to Coronado in 2022.
• The 165,908 group room nights in 2022 generated $66.4 million in lodging spend and $113.5 million in total visitor spending, including transportation, restaurants, retail, recreation, and other services.
• Including the supply chain and the local spending of earned income groups generated $164.1 million in economic activity in 2022.
• Based on data from Oxford Economics, a leading research firm, the study verifies the important economic impact of group meetings and conventions in Coronado – and the subsequent effect on nearby businesses, job creation and taxes collected by the city.

Executive Director Todd Little notes that group travel is a vital economic engine since it funds the City of Coronado’s collection of Transient Occupancy Taxes (TOT), projected to reach $12 million for 2022. “The TOT funds critical community services in Coronado such as the local police and fire departments, libraries, park and recreation programs and grants for local organizations,” he said. For this reason, “Coronado’s economic health is dependent on a substantial, but carefully managed, group travel sector – a critical driver of our city’s future.”

Full story from Coronado Times here.

Holiday Shopping Initiative Announced

Coronado Times June 29, 2022

The Advisory Board of Discover Coronado has approved a plan to help Coronado’s retail shops better compete this holiday against other San Diego shopping districts and online vendors such as Amazon. A collaboration between Discover Coronado, the City of Coronado, the Coronado Chamber of Commerce and Coronado MainStreet has been established to make the City’s downtown and holiday tree more festive during December.

The 100-foot-tall pine tree in Rotary Park continues to outgrow its existing strand of holiday lights. The result leaves vast portions of the tree undecorated. Discover Coronado and the City of Coronado will split the cost of fully decorating the entire tree with a new lighting design, something that hasn’t been done in decades. The historic tree will be adorned for the entire holiday shopping season, debuting on Friday December 2^nd, following Coronado Holiday Parade.

The local organizations leading this project believe tastefully enhancing the tree in Rotary Park during the season will elevate the holiday spirit on Orange Avenue, where many of locally owned shops are situated.

Coronado MainStreet will also contribute to the initiative by launching efforts that encourage a “Shop Local” mindset.

This latest initiative is a key part of Discover Coronado’s ongoing support for the Coronado community, including:

• The annual wrapping of Coronado’s Free Summer Shuttle service since its inception nine years ago. This year, Discover Coronado underwrote the cost to redesign the exterior wrapping to include an iconic mural that once graced the Cora Mart building on Orange Avenue.

• Extended the funding of the vibrant art banners that line Orange Avenue. These banners add a pop of color throughout the year and spotlight Coronado’s non-profit organizations.

• Discover Coronado helps fund a variety of smaller projects on the island, including the Promenade Concert Series, the student Jog-A-Thon that benefits Coronado Elementary School PTO and a September basketball event benefitting the Warrior Foundation, Freedom Station.

• Community beautification is also key to Discover Coronado’s mission – benefitting residents and visitors alike. The organization has funded on a study to beautify Orange Avenue – Coronado’s gateway. Short term improvements include unifying mismatched items like benches, bike racks, trash cans; and adding additional lighting and flower planters.