Summer tourism increases with Coachella Valley ‘chill’

The scorching heat isn’t stopping people from indulging in the desert.

“It’s paradise. It’s a beautiful place to be,” said Peter Mins of Rancho Mirage.

With marketing strategies the Greater Palm Springs Convention & Visitors Bureau wants to drive people to “chill” in the Coachella Valley.

“We did 2.6 billion impressions in May and June alone in Southern California. Occupancy was up in June, rate was up in June. We hope its driving more traffic to the destination,” said CVB President Scott White.

White said tourism has increased ten percent compared to last summer, this after the CVB partnered with Valley business owners to offer a “Chill Pass,” discounts and events, to people across southern California and internationally.

Palm Springs shops and restaurants enjoy the foot traffic.

“I’ve been in the desert 20 years. There’s a lot more traffic. Business is picking up,” said Mary Kay Schuld at Mario’s of Palm Springs.

The CVB said flights from Canada are taking off this summer.

“We’re seeing more Canadians coming back to enjoy the destination. Domestically we were down a little bit on flights, so we’re seeing more people driving from the coast,” said White.