Sustainability Training Webinars
To educate partners and the community on best practices in sustainability, Visit Greater Palm Springs hosted two impactful webinars in 2024:
- "Sustainable Events for Meeting Planners" – Focused on integrating sustainability into event planning and hospitality.
- "Food Waste & Recovery and SB 1383" – Organized in collaboration with FIND Food Bank and the City of Palm Desert, this session provided insights into California’s landmark SB 1383 legislation and strategies for food waste reduction and recovery. WATCH NOW
Partnership with Kind Traveler
In an ongoing commitment to responsible tourism and community support, Visit Greater Palm Springs strengthened its collaboration with Kind Traveler, yielding substantial media exposure and direct community benefits:
- 62 media placements, reaching an audience of 10.2 million.
- $9,603 in donations raised, directly supporting:
- 34,232 meals provided by The LGBTQ Community Center of the Desert.
- 209 guided desert walks led by Friends of the Desert Mountains.
The partnership further amplified Greater Palm Springs' dedication to sustainable travel by launching a dedicated Kind Traveler landing page on the Visit Greater Palm Springs website, making it easier for visitors to engage in purpose-driven tourism.
Cultural Tourism & Accessibility
Content Development
In 2024, Visit Greater Palm Springs expanded its content initiatives to highlight sustainability, accessibility, and cultural tourism, ensuring a more authentic representation of the region’s diverse and vibrant culture. Through engaging storytelling and strategic content development, the destination showcased its rich history, indigenous heritage, and inclusive tourism experiences.
Recognition for DEI Efforts
Visit Greater Palm Springs received national recognition for its commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in 2024. In December, the organization was honored with the Applied DEI Award for an Outstanding Organizational Initiative from Travel Unity, recognizing the success of the Summer 2024 Youth Leadership (Micro-Internship) Program. This initiative exemplified inclusive youth engagement and workforce development, reinforcing Greater Palm Springs' commitment to fostering opportunity for all.
Further amplifying DEI and cultural storytelling, Visit Greater Palm Springs partnered with BBC Storyworks to produce a custom episode for the "In Pursuit of Wellness" series, focusing on the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians. The episode received extensive amplification through the Global Wellness Institute’s marketing channels—including email, social media, website features, and media outreach—along with prominent placement on BBC.com.
- Social media promotion of the video generated over 4 million impressions, 840,000 views, 1.5 million engagements, and over 530,000 clicks.
- The episode received the highest number of pageviews on the series' landing page, demonstrating a strong audience interest in Greater Palm Springs' indigenous heritage.
Additionally, the Native American Culture page on the Visit Greater Palm Springs website was updated and expanded to include:
- "The Best Hikes in Tahquitz and Indian Canyons" feature.
- Insights into Native American Bird Singing traditions.
- Listings for Native American cultural events.
- Inclusion of the BBC Storyworks “In Pursuit of Wellness” video to further engage visitors.
Preparation for IGLTA 2025
As Greater Palm Springs prepares to host the International LGBTQ+ Travel Association (IGLTA) 2025 conference, the organization took a proactive step in fostering multicultural and intersectional representation by convening the inaugural Community Planning Committee in December 2024. This committee is dedicated to ensuring the conference reflects the full diversity and inclusivity of Greater Palm Springs' LGBTQ+ community, laying the groundwork for a world-class event.
Accessibility Initiatives
Visit Greater Palm Springs further advanced accessibility in tourism through strategic partnerships and industry-leading initiatives.
- A partnership with Wheel the World helped highlight accessibility features of local tourism businesses while providing specialized training for hospitality staff to enhance the guest experience for visitors of all abilities.
- The organization continued promotion of the Certified Autism Destination designation, securing 14 additional partners in 2024. With this milestone, Greater Palm Springs is on track to achieve the full Certified Autism Destination status in Q1 2025, reinforcing its commitment to welcoming neurodiverse travelers and families.
Advocacy
State Government Relations
In 2024, Visit Greater Palm Springs strengthened its presence in state government affairs by selecting Capitol Advocacy through a competitive bidding process to represent the organization in state government relations. This partnership ensured diligent monitoring of key legislation, identifying bills to support, oppose, or track in alignment with the region’s tourism and economic priorities.
Legislative Engagement
Advocacy efforts were instrumental in shaping legislative outcomes that impact the tourism industry and the Coachella Valley. Visit Greater Palm Springs actively opposed SB 584 (Limon), a proposed 15% tax on short-term rentals, contributing to its defeat. The organization also lent its support to legislation benefiting the region, including AB 2757 (Garcia), AB 3198 (Garcia), and AB 2002 (Sanchez). Additionally, Visit Greater Palm Springs played a key role in supporting the creation of the Chuckwalla National Monument, reinforcing its commitment to preserving the region’s natural assets.
Showcasing the Region
Visit Greater Palm Springs was instrumental in bringing state lawmakers to the Coachella Valley by securing a special meeting of the State Assembly Select Committee on Permitting Reform. Held in November at Cal State San Bernardino Palm Desert Campus, this event provided a platform to showcase the region’s leadership in renewable energy and the expansion plans for CSU Palm Desert Campus, further reinforcing the area's significance in California’s economic and environmental future.
Building Relationships
Strengthening relationships with state officials remained a priority throughout the year. Visit Greater Palm Springs proactively initiated meetings with local state-elected officials and their staff, ensuring they were well-informed about the organization’s mission and priorities. These engagements helped build stronger advocacy channels and increased awareness of the critical role tourism plays in the region’s economy.
Legislative Platform
To guide future advocacy efforts, Visit Greater Palm Springs developed and formalized its 2025 Legislative Platform, outlining key legislative and funding priorities.
This platform, approved by the JPA Executive Commitee and Board of Directors, serves as a roadmap for ongoing policy engagement and legislative action in the coming year.
