TOURISM DEVELOPMENT

2025 Recap & Strategic Focus  

In 2025, Tourism Development efforts remained focused on advancing Visit Greater Palm Springs’ core organizational priorities: driving off-peak visitation, attracting high-value travelers, expanding market diversification, and supporting long-term air service sustainability.  

Activity was particularly strong during the 2025 holiday season, with the team participating in 29 client events, trade shows, and sales missions in November and December, connecting with nearly 1,000 clients across 16 global markets, primarily within the United States. During this same period, 23 clients were hosted in Greater Palm Springs, providing firsthand destination experiences designed to support future bookings—particularly during need periods.  

Across the full year, the Tourism Development team—supported by our international offices—executed 38 marketing campaigns, attended 129 trade shows, missions, events, and trainings, and hosted 172 clients from 14 markets. These efforts resulted in more than 8,700 in-person client interactions across 26 global markets, reinforcing destination awareness while building long-term demand pipelines aligned with year-round visitation goals.  

Market Strategy & Alignment with Organizational Goals  

The U.S., Canada, and Mexico remain priority markets, as they continue to represent a significant share of peak-season visitation and provide opportunities to influence length of stay, trip timing, and spend per visitor.

Overseas markets remain critical to supporting summer and fall need periods, despite short-term geopolitical and economic challenges. Tourism Development continues to invest in consistent, long-term programming in these markets to maintain destination awareness and ensure Greater Palm Springs remains well-positioned as international travel demand recovers.

Tourism Development’s B2B efforts in these markets are focused on:

• Increasing average length of stay
• Encouraging travel during off-peak and shoulder seasons
• Promoting ancillary experiences beyond accommodations
• Supporting niche segments aligned with Greater Palm Springs’ brand pillars, including wellness, luxury, LGBTQ+, and experiential travel

Industry Context & Strategic Implications 

The global hotel industry continues to experience a widening gap between luxury and lower-priced segments, a trend that shows no signs of changing course next year, thanks to what economists have dubbed a K-shaped economy in which high-income earners pull ahead and lower-income groups lag. Higher-income travelers are driving a growing share of hotel demand, reinforcing the importance of Greater Palm Springs’ positioning in luxury, experiential, and values-driven travel. 

Research based on analysis of millions of bookings and a survey of 4,000 travelers from Internova Travel Group indicate that travelers will be relying on experts to make their plans. “Travelers are not stepping away from travel, but they are becoming far more intentional about where and how they spend,” said Henry Gilroy, EVP, strategy, Internova Travel Group. “As prices rise, especially at the premium end of the market, we’re seeing travelers rely more heavily on expert guidance from travel advisors to help them prioritize value, flexibility and meaningful experiences.”  

The U.S. is projected to be the only nation worldwide to see a decline in inbound travel in 2025, and international tourism to the U.S. will continue to face headwinds in 2026 due to perception barriers, high airfares, and geopolitical factors. In a speech at the November 2025 Phocuswrite convention, U.S. Travel Association President and CEO Geoff Freeman highlighted a phenomenon he said few in Washington, D.C., want to acknowledge: that fear of the United States is rising globally. “There is fear about coming to the United States… fear of being detained… fear of having your device searched,” he said.  Add to that a still-strong dollar and expensive airfares – compounded in Asia by the inability to fly over Russian airspace – and demand is softening across key markets. Perception, he warned, has become a major deterrent. “Travelers know we have beautiful attractions… what they don’t know is that they’re welcome.” 

These conditions underscore the importance of sustained international engagement to protect future market share. 

Greater Palm Springs Performance

STR data for 2025 shows a +1.1% increase in leisure occupancy over 2024, with gains concentrated in January and the August–December timeframe, aligning with VGPS organizational efforts to strengthen shoulder and off-peak performance. 

Visa cardholder data from January through November reflects mixed international results. Canada’s numbers are showing a negative 14% decline, and while Western Europe declined 7.2% versus same time in 2024, several markets demonstrated positive momentum, including Australia (+4%), Asia (+12%), and Mexico (+13%), reinforcing the value of diversified market investment. 

This same Visa data generally shows positive year-over-year increases in our key domestic markets with exceptions of New York (-1%), Minneapolis (-3%), Washington, D.C. (-5%). These insights continue to inform Tourism Development’s prioritization of markets and deployment of resources.

Looking Ahead

Tourism Development initiatives in early 2026 will continue to support organizational goals around market diversification, off-peak demand, and long-term growth. Planned activity includes destination trainings and sales efforts in Japan, Taipei, and China, along with participation in key industry events and partnerships such as:

• International Inbound Travel Association Annual Conference
• Airport Roundtable
• Visit California Mexico Sales Mission
• Aer Lingus Roadshow (Ireland)
• Visit California Outlook Forum
• Luxury Forum
• Go West Summit
• Routes Americas
• IGLTA Virtual Marketplace
• Targeted client events in New York and Los Angeles

These efforts are designed to strengthen trade relationships, support future air service opportunities, and ensure Greater Palm Springs remains competitive in a changing global travel landscape—particularly during off-peak and need periods.

If you have any questions about Tourism Development, please contact:
Gary Orfield, Director of Tourism Development​
gary@visitgreaterps.com | 760.969.1335