Visit Greater Palm Springs Presents Record Visitor Metrics, New 10‑Year Stewardship Plan

Visit Greater Palm Springs presented its 2025 results and 2026 objectives to the Palm Desert City Council on Feb. 12, highlighting valley‑wide visitation and local economic contributions and describing upcoming marketing and planning efforts.

Scott White summarized annual economic estimates derived from Tourism Economics (an Oxford Economics company) and the destination‑marketing organization’s research: Visit Greater Palm Springs presented figures for the Coachella Valley of 14.5 million visitors in 2025, estimated state and local tax contributions of about $897 million, and employment supported of approximately 51,000 jobs. White said vacation rentals generated about $1.1 billion in business sales and supported 4,400 jobs valley‑wide; Palm Desert‑specific figures presented included about $163 million in visitor spending and roughly $19 million in state and local tax revenue. White credited stewardship, destination marketing and partnerships for the recovery and growth.

Colleen Pace reviewed convention sales and marketing outcomes, reporting a record 262,000 convention room nights valley‑wide in 2025 and more than 53,000 room nights attributed to Palm Desert hotels (numbers provided by Visit Greater Palm Springs). Pace outlined 2026 priorities: off‑peak demand, nine city‑specific master plans produced by Hunden Partners (funded by Visit Greater Palm Springs), a sports‑market committee, a customer advisory board, and brand campaigns including an international push to LGBTQ+ markets.

Davis Meyer summarized economic‑development outreach, workforce programs and youth engagement initiatives, including scholarship and leadership programs in partnership with College of the Desert.

Council members thanked the presenters for the data and regional collaboration. Mayor Truby and several council members praised the organization’s outreach and promotional work. Visit Greater Palm Springs emphasized that the organization will fund the new city‑specific master plans and forthcoming studies, and noted ongoing data products (dashboards via Rove) and resident sentiment and visitor intercept surveys.

Context and caveats: Figures and impact estimates were presented by Visit Greater Palm Springs and attributed to consultant studies and internal analyses; some large aggregate numbers were reported by the presenters and should be read as the organization’s estimates rather than independently verified city figures.

Next steps: Visit Greater Palm Springs said it will share study results and continue regional coordination and will return to the council for follow‑up as appropriate.