Sonora, CA…Formerly known as the Tuolumne County Visitors Bureau, the private, non-profit corporation opted for a business name change to coincide with National Travel and Tourism Week. Now doing business as Visit Tuolumne County, CEO and President Lisa Mayo comments, “We are now doing business as Visit Tuolumne County. Not only does this keep up with worldwide travel trends but every time it is said, it is a call to action inviting people to visit.”

Visit California released the 2018 Travel Impact Report, prepared by Dean Runyan Associates. Tuolumne County tourism showed resiliency after a challenging tourism year hampered by area fires and a partial government shutdown. Overall total direct travel spending increased to $264.2 million in 2018 from $250.3 million in 2017. Visit Tuolumne County presented the numbers to the Tuolumne County Board of Supervisors along with a resolution proclaiming the week of May 5-11, 2019 as National Travel and Tourism Week and the month of May 2019 as California Tourism Month in Tuolumne County. The Tuolumne County Board of Supervisors were pleased to pass the resolution with a 4-0 vote, with one supervisor absent, and extended compliments to Visit Tuolumne County on their successful efforts to increase tourism even in challenging situations.

Visit Tuolumne County kept the celebration going as they hosted nearly 90 county residents, business owners, and dignitaries at their Tourism Showcase and Annual Dinner on Wednesday, May 8. Highlights from the evening included recognition of Visit Tuolumne County’s founding board member and proprietor of the 1859 Historic National Hotel and Restaurant for 45-years, Stephen Willey. Willey was presented with a legislative resolution by Congressman Tom McClintock’s office representative and Assemblyman Bigelow’s and Senator Borgeas’ office representative.

Event speakers included Lynn Carpenter, Vice President of Marketing for Visit California, who shared that Tuolumne County saw the highest growth of tourism numbers out of all rural counties in California. Adam Forsdike, Travel Trade Account Manager for Black Diamond, Visit Tuolumne County’s Public Relations and Travel Trade agency in the UK, also spoke sharing that the UK market is exploding with interest in Yosemite’s Tuolumne County. With just over a year of partnership, Visit Tuolumne County has been featured in 38 pieces of media with a reach of 99,552,849 and an estimated ad value of $731,057. Forsdike comments, “As media learn about Yosemite’s Tuolumne County the demand for travel to the destination increases and then Travel Trade catches on and will then begin to book travel to Tuolumne County.”

As the week continued Visit Tuolumne County welcomed 13 media representatives from 11 countries to the area as part of Visit California’s global familiarization tour, the Gold Rush Rally. Including both influencers and traditional journalists from key media outlets, the “Gold Rush Rally” attendees were invited to help draw global attention to this special part of the state — comprised of 10 counties — known as California Gold Country and the fascinating 170-year-old Gold Rush history that can be found throughout the region along historic Highway 49.

Visit Tuolumne County was proud to be a part of this exciting global media program. Visit Tuolumne County showcased Tuolumne County’s piece of California Gold Country with activities such as kayaking and paddle boarding, hiking, a cooking demonstration by Industrial Food Works, wine and cider tasting, historical town tours of downtown Sonora, Columbia State Historic Park, and Railtown 1897 State Historic Park, and exploring many local dining and lodging options.

Visit Tuolumne County continues to celebrate May as California Tourism Month through social media campaigns promoting awareness of tourism impacts, continuing to build on a stewardship campaign and launching of the Tuolumne Adventure Trolley, a free trolley service that runs every Saturday through September.

About Tuolumne County, California
Tuolumne County rhymes with “Follow Me,” located 133 miles/200 km east of San Francisco, is a pristine, scenic expanse reaching into the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Gold was discovered in Tuolumne County in 1848, setting off the major gold rush of 1849. The main highways leading to the picturesque drive from the San Francisco and East Bay Area are Highways 108 and 120 from the west and Highway 49 from the north. The State Highway 120 entrance to Yosemite National Park is considered the “front door” of the park for the San Francisco Greater Bay Area. The Stanislaus National Forest, Yosemite National Park, and other surrounding areas provide natural vistas and settings for hiking, water skiing, horseback riding, rafting, camping, snowmobiling, boating, snow skiing, fishing, and other outdoor activities. Seven restored historic hotels, four golf courses, numerous and varied dining establishments, historic saloons, four wineries and hard cider distillery, train rides, casinos, seven museums, two state historic parks, two live theaters, many bed-and-breakfast inns, and a variety of Airbnb accommodations are among the many other attributes that make the county a year-round vacation destination. www.visittuolumne.com
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