Palm Springs launches Tourism Advisory Committee to sharpen city’s visitor strategy

Palm Springs has formed its first Tourism Advisory Committee, bringing together a cross-section of local business and hospitality leaders to help guide the city’s tourism marketing strategy and strengthen the visitor experience.

The city council directed that the committee be included in its contract with Oakview Group, which manages the Palm Springs Convention Center, Plaza Theatre, and oversees tourism operations through Visit Greater Palm Springs. The group is intended to serve as a sounding board—not a decision-making body—advising tourism officials on marketing priorities, visitor trends, and strategies for growing local business collaboration.

Councilmember Jeffrey Bernstein, who sits on the committee, said the work of the group is meant to have real consequences for how the city sets priorities. “What I hope to do is get things that we can then bring back that helps us set policy as we go forward,” Bernstein said. “This is so significant.”

The committee’s 10 industry members represent a wide range of businesses, including Jasmine Sullivan-Waits of Greater Palm Springs Pride, Lisa Vossler-Smith of Modernism Week, David Powell of the Desert Business Association, Liz Ostoich of Farm/Taquila/Clandestino, David Feltman of VRON, Alexis Palomino of SuperBloom, Adam Robinson of Twin Palms Resort, Christine Delgado of Kimpton Rowan Hotel, Jennifer Seymour of Hunters, and Bryan Rogers of Boozehounds.

The committee will meet quarterly for 60-minute sessions, with its next meeting scheduled for May 28.

Tourism is the Coachella Valley’s largest economic driver, accounting for one in four local jobs and generating $9.1 billion in total economic impact in 2024, according to figures presented at the meeting by Visit Greater Palm Springs. The region welcomed 14.5 million visitors that year, with visitor spending producing an estimated $897 million in state and local tax revenues.

Gary Forsyth, director of Palm Springs tourism, told the committee they’re seeing success with digital strategy. He said organic search impressions on the city’s tourism website increased 4.3% year over year, generating nearly 195,000 referrals to local business websites in 2025.

Sullivan-Waits, who represents Greater Palm Springs Pride, said she sees the committee as an opportunity to ensure the city’s marketing reaches beyond its traditional audience.

“I am looking forward to contributing different perspectives. I’m a native to the Coachella Valley, and I often think we haven’t really done a good job of marketing down valley to get people to come,” she said, adding that she hoped to bring perspectives on family travel and the lesbian and LGBTQ+ community to the group’s discussion.

Vossler-Smith, who oversees Modernism Week, said she has long felt the need for better access to tourism data. “I don’t se a lot of data on festivals, even though we’re members of all the bureaus, we don’t really get data provided to us, I didn’t know what to ask for.”

The committee’s near-term goals include a discussion on how to maximize tourism impact with upcoming events like the Great Marilyn Monroe Centennial Celebration on May 30, the citywide XOXO Arts and Culture Celebration starting June 11, and a summer campaign to encourage off-peak travel.

All future committee meetings will be held at the Welwood Murray Library, which also serves as one of two city-managed visitor centers.

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