Travelers As Paso’s tourism booms again, Paso Robles’ next step is to become a wine destination.

Paso Robles, a mid-state California fair, saw a 40 percent increase over last year. Travel Paso, which promotes tourism in the city amid Covid-19 restrictions, said the show’s success reflects a strong recovery in tourism dollars.

Travel Paso promotes the local tourism industry through marketing and branding. Late last month, the organization elected its new board president, Alex Villicana.

As chairman, Villacana said, his biggest goal is to make Paso Robles the new leading wine destination in California.

“I’m trying to get the tourists to come here in Paso Robles and stay,” Villacana said. Their biggest focus is catering to visitors by promoting events and locations in Paso Robles in places like Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Jose. He said that online marketing is currently their biggest push.

“The real goal of Travel Paso is that when someone goes on the Internet and searches for ‘wine destinations,’ this Paso is the first thing that comes up,” says Villacana.

He said it is still working. The latest data shows record-breaking monthly revenues starting in March 2021, driven in part by the company’s targeted marketing campaigns.

Villacana sees wine as the foundation of the future of tourism in Paso Robles – but over the years, the city has grown into more.

“Whether it’s the factories, the breweries, you know the sensorio, the golf courses…it’s a whole lot of tourism ecosystems,” Vilicana said.

Villacana Paso Robles has come a long way in the past 30 years, but there are still people who think of other regions as wine destinations. That’s why it’s important to constantly engage with consumers who haven’t been here yet.

Revenue from the city’s transient occupancy tax (TOT) is an indication of how much tourism has been brought back. A TOTY is a tax that directly charges guests for their stay at hotels, RV resorts, and vacation rentals. As of March 2021, the levy has generated nearly $9 million in revenue.

One upcoming event in Paso Robles is the Garagiste Festival. It’s in November, and brings together home winemakers, also known as ‘garagistes’, to collaborate on education, training and best practices for home winemakers. This is expected to bring more tourism dollars to the city.