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10 Reasons Why Pasadena
DESTINATION EXPERTS | From assistance with booking meeting space and rooms to site selection and so much more, our CVB team offers one-stop shopping for your meeting and event needs.
CONVENIENCE | Pasadena is the ideal location for your event, providing easy access, over 1,200 sleeping rooms, and scores of services within walking distance of the Convention Center.
SUPERIOR CLIENT SERVICES | An experienced Client Services team is available with housing, event planning, attendance building, and other services to make your next event a success.
ACCOMMODATIONS | 2,500 rooms; 1,200 are within walking distance of the Convention Center.
MEETINGS | The city has nearly 200,000 square feet of meeting space between the Convention Center and Pasadena’s five hotels.
DINING | The birthplace of Julia Child, Pasadena is a foodie’s paradise,with more than 500 restaurants.
SHOPPING | Pasadena offers antique stores, boutiques, museum stores, two shopping centers, and world-renowned flea markets.
ENTERTAINMENT | Sophisticated jazz clubs, Broadway-style theatre, comedy clubs, and sports bars.
ART & CULTURE | Pasadena is a culture-lover’s dream with 14 museums and gardens, 11 performing arts organizations, and 20 tour options.
TRANSPORTATION | Explore Pasadena and neighboring downtown Los Angeles or Hollywood with Metro’s Gold Line connecting L.A. to Pasadena.
Demo Spotlight
A dynamic city centered in beautiful Southern California, Pasadena is a city of discovery – from dining and shopping to theater and art galleries. Pasadena offers the business and recreational traveler a surprising combination of sophisticated charm, culture, history, and fun.
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STUDY FINDS TOURISM INDUSTRY GENERATES $475.4 MILLION FOR PASADENA
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 29, 2013
For more information, contact:
Janet Zaldua, Director of Communications
(626) 395-0211,
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Editor’s Note: Interviews with Pasadena Center Operating Company CEO Michael Ross and PKF Consulting Senior Vice President Bruce Baltin can be arranged.
STUDY FINDS TOURISM INDUSTRY
GENERATES $475.4 MILLION FOR PASADENA
PASADENA, CA – Meetings and tourism generate millions of dollars for Pasadena and its surrounding communities each year. According to a recent study, in 2011 visitor expenditures generated $475.4 million in revenue for the city, a 6 percent increase from 2010 and a 12.6% increase from 2008. The tourism industry captured $10.4 million in measurable tax revenues for Pasadena, up 8 percent from 2010 but still down 6.8 percent from its high in 2008.
“These figures reaffirm the enormous significance the local hospitality industry and the visitors it attracts have on Pasadena’s economy,” said Michael Ross, CEO, Pasadena Center Operating Company. “Even during the tough economic times of the past few years, people still continued to vacation, albeit closer to home. They also continued to attend meetings and conventions, which historically are a mainstay during an economic downturn.”
Pasadena’s tourism industry supported 2,383 jobs in 2011, up from 2,323 in 2010. The job figures continued to increase from a low of 2,311 in 2009 but have not yet bounced back to the 2008 figure of 2,603.
“We are definitely starting to see signs of economic improvement in Pasadena’s hospitality sector,” Ross said. “Tax revenues and job numbers are still down from peak 2008 figures, but they have climbed moderately every year since 2009.”
Pasadena’s hotel and motel guests are responsible for 57 percent of total visitor spending. Convention and meeting delegates follow, with 24.6 percent of visitor spending credited to this group. (This includes day-visit meeting and tradeshow attendees only. Overnight convention delegate expenditures are reflected in the hotel/motel guest figure.) Private house guests round out the mix, accounting for 18.4 percent of visitor expenditures.
“As this study shows, the majority of visitor spending can be attributed to overnight visitors, many of whom come to Pasadena for a meeting or convention,” Ross said. In addition to lodging the biggest expenditures for these guests are food, retail and entertainment. This translates into revenue for the city’s retailers, restaurants and museums, just to name a few.
The study also shows a dramatic increase in the economic impact of meetings and tradeshows over the past few years. This positive news can be attributed directly to the expanded Pasadena Convention Center. In 2009, with the new space fully operational, the total economic impact from this sector increased a whopping 107.7 percent to $115.1 million, up from just $55.4 million in 2008. Even with recent economic challenges, modest gains were made each year with a total impact of $115.2 million in 2010 and $117.1 million in 2011.
“Pasadena and its businesses are definitely reaping the rewards of the Convention Center expansion,” Ross said. “Now we attract large groups that we couldn’t accommodate before like the Los Angeles County Science Fair with its 4,000 attendees and the Salvation Army’s reunion with its record-breaking 5,400 delegates.”
The forecast for continued recovery from the recession is good. “When the final figures from 2012 are tallied, tourism’s impact on Pasadena is expected to exceed 2011 figures,” said PKF Consulting’s Senior Vice President Bruce Baltin. “Much of the reason is due to increases in hotel occupancy and higher room rates. Even further growth is expected in 2013.”
According to the United States Travel Association, the increase in travel expenditures from tourists visiting Pasadena is representative of a trend seen nationwide. In 2011, overall travel expenditures surpassed the $800 billion mark for the first time, passing the 2008 peak of $773 billion. Paralleling the trend, in 2011, visitors pumped more than $102.3 billion into California’s economy, up 7.6 percent from the $95.1 billion that was spent in the golden state in 2010. California also remains the number one destination in the U.S. for domestic travelers.
The Pasadena Center Operating Company, which oversees the Pasadena Convention Center, Pasadena Convention & Visitors Bureau, Pasadena Civic Auditorium and Pasadena Ice Skating Center, commissioned PFK Consulting to conduct the economic impact study in late 2012.
For more information, contact the Pasadena Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) at
(626) 795-9311 or log on to VisitPasadena.com . The Pasadena CVB is a non-profit organization dedicated to marketing the city of Pasadena as a desirable meeting, convention and leisure travel destination.
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Annual Signature Events Demo
Whether it’s a major sporting event, an exhibit, or a home tour, be sure to catch a quintessential Pasadena occasion.
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PASADENA “WAY FINDING” SIGNS POPPING UP AROUND TOWN
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 20, 2013 #027-13
NEWS MEDIA CONTACTS:
William H. Boyer, Pasadena Public Information Officer, City Manager’s Office, (626) 744-4755,
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
PASADENA "WAY FINDING" SIGNS POPPING UP AROUND TOWN
PASADENA, Calif.—A series of modern, color-coordinated "way finding" signs are popping up in Pasadena www.cityofpasadena.net to enhance the navigation by tourists, business travelers, workers, bicyclists and motorists to Pasadena’s key destinations, attractions, parking and other points of interest.
The integrated, directional signs are being installed to lead the traveling public into—and around—distinct parts of the City, including the Old Pasadena, Civic Center, Playhouse, East Pasadena, Hastings Ranch, North Pasadena, Arroyo Seco and South Lake districts. The aluminum signs have a clean, attractive look with the City’s rose logo, clearly printed words and arrows to note major landmarks such as the Rose Bowl Stadium, (www.rosebowlstadium.com), Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena Convention Center, (www.pasadenacenter.com), Pacific Asia Museum, retail shopping areas, public transit hubs and parking garages.
Other destinations highlighted include, among others, Caltech, Pasadena City College, the Gamble House, Rose Bowl Aquatics Center, Huntington Hospital, Pasadena Playhouse and City Hall.
The first six of the 378 new way finding signs were installed March 6 by a crew from the City’s Department of Public Works. About 150 of the signs are being placed for easy pedestrian viewing while the rest of the 228 signs are being strategically located to help motorists.
"Pasadena is a world-class destination for business and leisure travel and we want our visitors to enjoy their experience here. The way-finding signs will make it easier for them to find our major destinations and parking," City Manager Michael Beck said.
The new comprehensive signage is helping to brand and market the best of what Pasadena (www.visitpasadena.com) has to offer, Beck added. The project began in April as new steel poles and concrete footings for many of the new signs were installed. All of the signs should be in place by early summer. The project’s second and third phases will include additional signs with changeable data that informs motorists of parking spot availability at various garages, plus monument signs marking main entry points into Pasadena.
The $2.2 million project includes about $1.68 million in Proposition C monies from the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) and about $512,000 in matching funds from the City. Metro’s funds were instrumental in completing the project.
Funding for the first phase was about $1 million, including the 378 signs, steel poles, footings, brackets and labor costs. The project is managed by Public Works along with the City Manager’s Office, Economic Development Division and the City’s Department of Transportation.
Way finding signs have been used throughout history, dating back to ancient Greek, Roman and Egyptian times when sign boards were used by merchant groups plying a certain trade or good and to mark the location of taverns or other services. More elaborate carved and painted signs promoting guilds were used extensively in the Middle Ages. In modern times, a resurgence of way finding signs have been installed in many major metropolitan areas to market distinct neighborhoods. Pasadena joins Los Angeles and other cities in Southern California enjoying the economic and tourism benefits of a comprehensive, way finding sign program.
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Pasadena Convention & Visitors Bureau