March–May 2025
The spring season brought strong momentum, as the Communications team elevated Greater Palm Springs’ national and international profile through robust media engagement and strategic content development. Over the course of March, April, and May, the team in collaboration with our agencies secured 149 media touch points, delivered 65 custom pitches, and hosted 62 media visits to the destination.
High-profile media coverage included placements in Los Angeles Times, Food & Wine, Business Today, People, AAA Westways, Irish Examiner, and The New York Times, among others. In partnership with our PR agencies, these efforts resulted in 134 published stories across a wide range of influential platforms. Notable features included:
- Provoke Lifestyle – The Bold & the Beautiful
- People - A Giant Wave Pool, Surf Competitions and DJ Sets: Inside the Goldenvoice Surf Club Outside Coachella
- Forbes - 5 High-End Hotel Restaurants In Greater Palm Springs You Can’t Miss
- Los Angeles Times - 7 shops and restaurants that show why this off-the-radar desert town is a must-see beyond Coachella
- Food & Wine - Palm Springs Is Proof: The Coachella Valley Is Becoming a Culinary Destination
- Auto Messe Web - Luxurious Airstream glamping in Joshua Tree National Park!
- Travel Pulse - How The Travel Industry is Becoming More Inclusive for Travelers With Autism
- Vogue – The Best Vintage Stores in Palm Springs
- The New York Times - 22 Miles on Foot, 10 Minutes on a Tram: An ‘Extraordinary’ Day Hike
- The Boston Globe - Forget the beach. The hot new destination is the desert.
- NZ Herald - The best destination in the US for wellness: Welcome to Palm Springs, California
- Mirror UK - Greater Palm Springs has a beautiful private natural spring spa that soothes your soul
- Irish Examiner - Palm Springs: A look into the California desert's Technicolour oasis
Building on this success, the Communications team continued from late March into the current reporting period with a focus on immersive media hosting, expanded international outreach, and signature storytelling that positioned Greater Palm Springs as a leader in wellness, culture, and inclusive tourism. International efforts included participation in the Visit California Pan-European Media Mission, with stops in Frankfurt, London, and Paris. The team also attended a media dinner in Atlanta to introduce Greater Palm Springs to leading Southeast editors. Media hosted during Coachella and Desert X helped amplify the destination’s creative and cultural energy. Among the resulting stories was a People magazine feature that delivered a strong destination message tied to the Palm Springs Surf Club and the broader appeal of the destination during festival season.
A key highlight of the season was the official announcement that Greater Palm Springs has become the first Certified Autism Destination in California, following a multi-year regional effort in partnership with IBCCES. The milestone was shared during a press conference at The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens, drawing strong local and national media interest and reinforcing the destination’s commitment to accessibility and inclusion.
ABOVE: Certified Autism Destination Press Conference at The Living Desert.
The team also launched its first-ever Global Agency Immersion FAM, bringing together representatives from all five of Greater Palm Springs’ domestic and international PR agencies. This milestone initiative offered in-depth destination orientation, city-by-city briefings with local representatives, and opportunities for cross-agency collaboration. The immersive format was designed to strengthen global messaging alignment and deepen agency familiarity with the destination’s offerings—from wellness and arts to culinary, sustainability, and beyond.
ABOVE: PR Agency Immersion FAM at Aziz Farms
Signature spring initiatives also included the return of the award-winning Meet the Mentors program. Held between the two Coachella weekends, the program welcomed a new class of emerging travel writers for multi-day editorial workshops, mentorship, and destination experiences rooted in inclusion and creativity.
ABOVE: The 2025 Meet the Mentors Cohort.
A key success this spring was the Restaurant Week media campaign, which engaged local chefs and partners through a media-focused kickoff event and targeted hosting. The FAM drew strong local and regional media participation, resulting in earned coverage and social engagement that reinforced Greater Palm Springs as a rising culinary destination.
ABOVE: VGPS's Davis Meyer being interviewed during the Greater Palm Springs Restaurant Week kick off event at The Ritz-Carlton Rancho Mirage.
The team also coordinated a Desert Region Road Trip in support of Visit California Deserts, showcasing the hidden gems of Ridgecrest, Death Valley, Joshua Tree, Anza-Borrego, and Greater Palm Springs. The itinerary emphasized light adventure and “unseen California,” tying into the growing editorial interest around the Route 66 centennial.
Other highlights included hosting duties for the North American Travel Journalists Association (NATJA) conference, which included curated tours and destination briefings. Greater Palm Springs was also one of four destinations represented by Visit California at the Dotdash Meredith Travel Marketing Summit in New York, where editors from Travel + Leisure, Real Simple, Better Homes & Gardens, and others engaged in conversations around national parks, wellness, and the destination’s gateway access to Joshua Tree.
June finished strong with participation in the PRSA Travel & Tourism Conference in Tampa Bay, where Greater Palm Springs was featured on a panel focused on inclusive destination storytelling and programs like Meet the Mentors. The team also hosted South Korean content creators in market, showcasing cultural, culinary, and outdoor experiences to this audiences. The quarter closed with strong global media engagement at IPW in Chicago, where 40 one-on-one media appointments were held with top-tier domestic and international journalists.
ABOVE: Panel on Bridging Diversity at PRSA Travel + Tourism Conference in Tampa.
Looking Ahead
The Communications team will continue a strong summer push to keep Greater Palm Springs top of mind for local and regional visitors, with an emphasis on media outreach and storytelling that highlights seasonal experiences, wellness offerings, and ways to enjoy the destination during the warmer months. Planning is also underway for key fall initiatives, including Spa Month in September, which will spotlight the region’s evolving wellness landscape. In addition, the team is preparing for upcoming professional development and media engagement opportunities through Destinations International and SATW in early September. Internally, preparations are underway to welcome a new Media Relations Manager, who will support the team’s ability to respond to media interest and coordinate upcoming visits. Throughout the summer, the focus remains on editorial planning, proactive pitching, and collaborative hosting efforts to ensure Greater Palm Springs is well-positioned heading into the fall travel season.
