Palm Springs Tourism

A Desert Oasis Palm Springs is a desert city about 95 square miles located 111 miles east of Los Angeles with a population of 44,552. Its history dates back thousands of years to the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians who lived in the Coachella Valley. The modern history of Palm Springs was glamorized by Hollywood movie stars in the 1920s because of the great weather and seclusion. Palm Springs was incorporated in 1938 and World War II brought rapid growth to businesses and housing development. A lot of retirees were drawn to Palm Springs as the 1970s were coming to an end and today the city depends on its tourism to keep the economy going. Celebrities still retreat to Palm Springs, but today the city’s economy centers on tourism, real estate, health care, shopping and gambling. A way for the city to capitalize off of tourism is the Transient Occupant Tax or TOT. “The Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT), also known as room tax or bed tax, is a tax collected by an operator from each guest, or transient, with the room payment and, subsequently, remitted to the City of Palm Springs. Current Transient Occupancy Tax rates are as follows: 13.5% for Group Meeting hotels and 11.5% for all other hotels. These rates have been in effect since January 1, 2002.” (www.ci.palm-springs.ca.us)
According to the Monthly TOT Report on the city’s website, TOT collections for the fiscal year 2010-2011 were $15,662,280. Also on the city’s website is the collection of sales tax receipts. For fiscal year 2009-2010, the city collected $6,451,739 in sales tax receipts. (www.ci.palm-springs.ca.us) In order to for marketing to occur, at least four factors are needed: (1) two or more parties with unsatisfied needs, (2) a desire and ability to be satisfied, (3) a way for the parties to communicate, and (4) something to exchange. Palm Springs markets to several types of groups. Vacationers, golfers, shoppers and the retired are a few. To attract a tourist to Palm Spring, the tourist has

Cited: http://www.palmsprings-ca.gov/index.aspx?page=115 http://www.ci.palm-springs.ca.us/index.aspx?page=387 http://www.ci.palm-springs.ca.us/index.aspx?page=389 http://www.nbclosangeles.com/the-scene/archive/Palm-Springs-Warms-to-Spring-Break-Crowd.html http://www.gaymarketnews.com/2008/03/palm-springs-summer-lgbt-marketing.html Gates, Gary; Ost, Jason (2004). The Gay and Lesbian Atlas. Washington: The Urban Institute. p. 27.