Visit Greater Palm Springs outlines tourism growth plan and convention center priorities

Visit Greater Palm Springs presented a wide-ranging update to the Palm Springs City Council on March 25, saying tourism remains “the number one driver for the economy in our valley.” The presentation included destinationwide economic-impact figures, city-specific visitor spending, and a preview of a regional 10‑year tourism stewardship master plan.

Why it matters: Council members and staff framed the convention center modernization as a critical investment to keep Palm Springs competitive for meetings and conventions. The tourism sector’s performance supports local jobs and tax revenue that council members said help fund public services without raising residents’ taxes.

The presentation included several headline figures and program updates. Presenters said the broader Coachella Valley’s tourism economic impact is about $9 billion and that visitors spend roughly $1.9 billion on average across the destination. For the City of Palm Springs specifically, presenters cited about $309 million in annual visitor spending tied to short‑term rental visitation and more than 1,300 jobs dependent on those visitors. The presenters also said short‑term rentals account for a higher share of overnight visitors in Palm Springs (near 30%) and generate roughly $44 million in state and local tax revenues.

Speakers described strategic work already under way: a nine‑city regional planning effort to produce city‑level tourism stewardship plans, new dashboards for real‑time data, an outreach push to Canada and Europe, a sports strategy to target indoor amateur sporting events, and workforce‑development partnerships with College of the Desert. The presentation organizers also highlighted marketing campaigns such as “Escape Your Ordinary” and a new brand campaign, “Where You Shine,” as tools to fill shoulder and off‑peak dates.

Council members pressed staff on labor and retention policies, asking how the city and Visit Greater Palm Springs are addressing mid‑career transitions and retention of midlevel employees. A presenter pointed to certificate programs — the 184 Leadership Institute and a new visionary‑leader certificate piloted this year — as pathways to retain and upskill local workers and to reduce churn in hospitality roles.

Council members also asked about the methodology of a short‑term rental sentiment survey. A presenter said the survey was administered by J. Wallen using voter‑file sampling of residents across the Coachella Valley and that results and underlying respondent counts are posted in the organization’s partner portal.

The presentation closed with a request for continued collaboration on the convention center modernization project; Visit Greater Palm Springs staff and council members described the center as the “economic engine” of local tourism and said modernization is needed to maintain competitiveness with other destinations.

Next steps: City staff said the convention‑center renovation will return to council with additional details, and Visit Greater Palm Springs said it will continue stakeholder engagement for the regional planning process.