Board Report

President's Summary

December 2025

I’m incredibly proud of our recent Champions of Hospitality Awards Gala that was a tremendous success, bringing together more than 1,000 of our tourism and hospitality community to honor the exceptional individuals who make our region a world-class destination. This year, we received an impressive 285 nominations from partners across all nine cities, a testament to the incredible talent, passion, and commitment within our workforce. Supported by the Greater Palm Springs Tourism Foundation, the gala celebrated those who go above and beyond in delivering outstanding service, sustainability, innovation, and community impact. It was an inspiring evening recognizing the people who ensure that every visitor’s experience shines and who continue to elevate tourism as the heartbeat of Greater Palm Springs. You can view the full list of winners HERE—congratulations to all!

As we close out 2025, I want to thank our board, city partners, and hospitality community for their ongoing collaboration during what has been a year of both progress and perseverance. Despite ongoing headwinds across the tourism and travel industry—ranging from economic uncertainty and shifting travel behaviors to fluctuating international demand—Greater Palm Springs continues to demonstrate remarkable resilience and unity in achieving our shared goals.

One of these challenges includes expected decreases in visitation from Canada, Greater Palm Springs’ #1 international market caused by recent shifts in travel behavior driven by economic and political factors, currency exchange, and evolving traveler preferences. This has created some uncertainty around near-term outbound travel to the U.S. Scheduled flights from Canada to PSP continue to trend down slightly entering the winter season, and this trend is expected into 2026. We continue to maintain conversations with our Canadian airlines, uncover additional partnership opportunities, and reach out to our loyal Canadian visitors through targeted messaging, ongoing media partnerships, and seasonal promotions focused on wellness, signature events, and extended stays. This includes new programs such as partnership with Air Miles, Canada’s most recognized loyalty program and Optimized Audience Campaigns with Brand USA utilizing first-party data for targeting Canadian travelers.

As we plan for the future, a major milestone in that effort is now underway: the launch of our updated comprehensive Destination Master Plan (DMP) for Greater Palm Springs. This forward-thinking initiative will serve as a strategic roadmap to guide the region’s long-term growth, competitiveness, and sustainability as a premier travel destination. Equally important, it will ensure that future tourism development enhances resident quality of life while preserving the character, culture, and natural beauty that make our oasis truly one of a kind. The DMP will align closely with our organizational priorities—including driving off-peak visitation, expanding air service, growing meetings and conventions, advancing sustainability and DEI, strengthening the hospitality workforce, and promoting economic diversification across the Coachella Valley. We have received a number of strong proposals from qualified firms who share our ambition for the future. These submissions are currently under review by our committee, and we anticipate selecting a partner soon to launch the project in early 2026.

Air service at PSP continues to strengthen regional connectivity. This quarter, five new routes launched—including service from Santa Rosa, Charlotte, Austin, Newark, and Chicago Midway—with several key seasonal routes resuming earlier than in past years. Passenger counts remain up nearly 4% year-to-date, and total seat capacity for winter is projected to increase by 6%, improving accessibility for both leisure and business travelers.

While national travel patterns have softened slightly in recent months, STR data through October shows year-to-date occupancy in Greater Palm Springs up 2%, ADR up 3%, and RevPAR up 5% compared to 2024, outpacing national projections. These results speak to the strength of our brand, the dedication of our hospitality community, and our continued focus on driving off-peak visitation.

Group bookings are tracking strongly across our key segments, supported by our sales team’s targeted approach to need periods—a strategy that is driving incremental growth in off-peak and summer months. As of the end of November, we have 226,521 definite room nights on the books for 2025, ahead of last year by 18%, with solid momentum building for 2026 and 2027. This quarter also marked the successful hosting of the IGLTA 2025 Global Convention, which drew a record-breaking delegation of more than 750 travel-industry attendees from across the world and reinforced our reputation as an inclusive, welcoming destination.

Our inaugural Greater Palm Springs Spa Month campaign advanced our goal of driving business during the shoulder season. Running through August and September, the campaign featured over 100 participating partners, generated more than 4 million impressions and 266,000 clicks, securing coverage in one of our strongest drive markets via KNBC-TV Los Angeles.

Marketing efforts also continued with the fall "Escape Your Ordinary" brand campaign, which delivered 3.9 billion impressions across digital, TV, and out-of-home placements. As we look ahead, creative development is already underway for a refreshed Summer 2026 campaign that will further elevate our message and drive visitation during the need period.

On the meetings side, September and October saw more than 3.9 billion total campaign impressions for the ongoing “The Oasis is Real” campaign, further reinforcing Greater Palm Springs as a premier destination for group business.

We continue to gain traction on the regional economic development front, with targeted media placements and a growing presence connecting investors, businesses, and talent with opportunities in our region. From September 1, 2025 - November 30, 2025, LiveWorkGPS.com had 2,852 users and 3,729 sessions, the majority of that traffic coming from paid social. You can view a more in-depth summary HERE.

Workforce development also remains a key focus, with the Greater Palm Springs Tourism Foundation advancing several new initiatives this fall—including a Visionary Leadership pilot program with College of the Desert and the creation of a Young Professionals Advisory Board to engage and mentor the next generation of industry leaders.

Multiple research initiatives are underway to guide our long-term strategy, including the Destination Master Plan that will serve as a roadmap for sustainable growth, balancing tourism development with resident quality of life and environmental stewardship, and a Resident Sentiment Study. We also recently completed the Q3 Visitor Intercept Study and an Image & Awareness Study—each providing valuable insight into how visitors and residents view Greater Palm Springs. Below are a few findings:

Visitor Intercept Study:

On average, trips were planned 42 days in advance, and the bookings occurred on average 38 days before the trip.
71% of respondents reported being very satisfied with their visit and 74% said they are very likely to return in the future.
Top reasons for visitor satisfaction included a peaceful and relaxing atmosphere, friendly people and local hospitality, cleanliness, and overall experience.
1 in 5 visitors expressed a desire for more affordable options.
Lodging preferences among visitors were as follows: 51% stayed in a hotel/motel/resort, 14% chose a vacation rental, and 13% stayed with family or friends.

Image Awareness Study (full version will be released in January 2026):

Markets that have more recently started receiving Greater Palm Springs advertising have seen the most significant increases in their perception of Greater Palm Springs such as Atlanta, Salt Lake City and Washington, D.C.
Positive perception often takes many years to see improvement; there are strong gains since 2018, when Greater Palm Springs began expanding their marketing.
Among Gateway markets, 74% of consumers indicated some level of familiarity, unsurprisingly the highest of any market group.
International market consumers reported notable increases in familiarity.
Greater Palm Springs excels when viewed against the rest of the competitive set for product attributes, especially for being a good place for health and wellness and offering a relaxing atmosphere.

As we enter the new year, we will do so with a clear path forward. Our collective efforts continue to strengthen year-round visitation, expand regional economic opportunities and grow our workforce, and reinforce Greater Palm Springs as a destination that values both its residents and visitors.

Thank you for your continued partnership and commitment to advancing the success of our region. I look forward to another productive year ahead and wish you all a wonderful holiday season.

Sincerely,

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