Valley Forum: Kill tourism promotion... really?

It has been remarkable to observe the recent assault on tourism dominating the editorial pages of our two local newspapers.

Most astounding, there is not even a glimmer of recognition for the core contribution tourism represents to the economic vitality and quality of life in our community.

Like any other local, I wish I didn’t have to avoid the Plaza when driving across town on a weekend (just as I’m sure many locals would prefer not to tolerate Sonoma Raceway event traffic four or five days a year).

However, Sonoma, like any community, survives and thrives based on the dollars it can draw into the local economy from outside sources.

Rather than some sort of widget, our principal export is the Sonoma experience, the food and wine culture, the spectacular setting, the Plaza retail environment and beautiful landscape that surrounds it all.

As contrast, drive through any of thousands of small towns in California or the rest of America whose economic base has eroded over the last few decades, whether timber, manufacturing, family farming or other industries whose viability has fallen away.

You see boarded up shops, abandoned downtowns, families who have to drive miles for basic shopping or medical services.

The transit occupancy tax from Sonoma hotel guests and the sales taxes from retail and restaurant sales represent more than a third of the city revenue that pays for the services we all enjoy - well-paved streets, fire and police, a beautifully landscaped town square.

But that’s only a small part of a much bigger picture.

A significant number of Sonoma residents hold jobs in hotels, restaurants, wineries and other businesses that survive on visitor dollars. And, those people in turn spend the majority of their paychecks in our local economy, shopping for groceries, buying school clothes for their kids, pet food for their dogs and cats.

And what benefits do we all enjoy as a result?

A community with five well-stocked grocery stores, three full-service pharmacies, a variety of choices to pick up kibble for the family dog, not to mention a full-time hospital, emergency room and full slate of medical professionals within a few minutes’ of our homes. It is a level of abundance most communities our size can only dream about.

Do we need balance? Of course. Should every hotel, restaurant or tasting room that comes along be welcomed with no questions asked? That would be absurd.

And there are side issues associated with tourism that need to be addressed, not the least of which is the proliferation of vacation rentals and their effect on our available housing stock.

On the other hand, does the community as a whole benefit when we invest in the promotion of Sonoma as a tourist destination? Most certainly we do.

When I’m attempting to drive across the Plaza on a Saturday afternoon, and a group of tourists steps in and out of the sidewalk four times trying to decide what business to visit next, my first instinct it to stick my head out the window and yell at them to get moving.

What I ought to be doing is thanking them, and even suggest they stick around a few more days.

Steve Page is president and general manager of Sonoma Raceway and a longtime Sonoma resident.