Businesses See Increased Traffic From Local Travelers

These days, most of those attending Van Nuys-based Tucker Tours’ chocolate, bakery, murder mystery, stained glass and other themed group tours are regional travelers. That is a major change from about 10 years ago when a good portion of individuals in those groups would have been from out of the state or other countries, said Curt Tucker, co-owner of the family business that has been around for about 30 years. The shift matches a larger statewide and national trends that show more travelers are opting for vacations and leisure trips that are closer to home instead of trips at farther destinations. And local businesses are capitalizing on this. While experts say the trend of “staycations” started about three years ago, it really accelerated in 2009 and into 2010. That equates to larger inflows of regional business for firms in the San Fernando Valley and Los Angeles region, said Bruce Baltin, senior vice president for Los Angeles-based hospitality research company PKF Consulting USA. Tucker Tours takes travelers on narrated tours of hidden local gems throughout the San Fernando Valley and Los Angeles area, straying away from the typical Hollywood and celebrity-focused tours that most out-of-towners partake in when visiting the area. However, in the years following the September 11 attack on the World Trade Center in 2001, business dropped and fewer out-of-state and international travelers were booking tours, leading the company to market its business to a more local audience. Local groups In 2008, as the economy soured and corporate tour bookings were becoming scarce, the company ramped up its efforts to reach out to senior centers, church groups and community organizations in the Southern California region. “In the last four to five years, we’ve been selling these tours more and more, and now that part of our business increased,” Tucker said, adding that the past year has shown an even greater boost in tours booked by regional travelers. Now Tucker is giving tours on a daily basis, taking people places like Forest Lawn’s memorial park and mortuary in Glendale, which houses a stained glass window replica of Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” painting created by a woman from Italy. Other tours explore historic restaurants and bakeries and other unique sites, such as a monastery where nuns make handmade chocolates. Tucker estimates the company had about $200,000 in annual revenues in 2008, which increased to about $250,000 in 2009. He expects the revenues to jump another $75,000 for 2010. A 2010 nationwide study shows that more travelers are opting to stay in their own regions when taking vacations. About 25 percent of leisure travelers in America with annual household incomes of more than $50,000 took at least one overnight leisure trip or vacation within 50 miles of their homes at least once in the past 12 months, according to Ypartnership/Harrison Group’s 2010 “Portrait of American Travelers” study. The trips were taken as alternatives to vacations that required traveling farther distances. That is a jump from the year before when 10 percent of surveyed travelers said they took at least one “staycation.” Baltin said the trend is evident in the Los Angeles region and has been growing in the past year due to travelers wanting to save money in the troubled economy. “That helps restaurants, gas stations, entertainment places and retailers,” he said. Replacing business When the economy starts to see more improvements, the trend will likely decrease, he added. However, lost business regional travelers will likely be balanced out by a return of business from out-of-state and international visitors. Universal Studios Hollywood serves as one major attraction for regional travelers with its new King Kong 360 3-D show and its new backlot that opened this summer, said Patti MacJennett, senior vice president of marketing for L.A. Inc. Some San Fernando Valley hotels have teamed up with the theme park to offer special package deals, and others have partnered with major retail centers to offer shopping incentives as part of their hotel offerings, she added. The Westfield Topanga and Promenade shopping centers have particularly reached out to staycationers this summer, launching a billboard campaign that gave it exposure to 101 freeway travelers. “The billboard campaign was a tactic for us to reach consumers who live in the L.A. region,” said Tammy Billings, marketing director for both shopping centers.