New campaign pushing residents, businesses to “Fly Local”
The Greater Coachella Valley Chamber of Commerce (GCVCC), in partnership with the Greater Palm Springs Convention and Visitors Bureau, launched Monday, “Fly PSP First,” a regional public service campaign designed to highlight the economic impact of the Palm Springs International Airport (PSP). Staff said the “Fly Local” campaign will encourage both local business and residents to utilize PSP whenever possible for air travel.
Joshua Bonner, President/CEO of GCVCC, said the airport is a hugely important economic driver in the region.
“The more traffic that we can have through our local regional airport, the more it allows them to add new routes to get more airlines in, more carriers,” he said.
Currently, 10 airlines fly non-stop from Palm Springs to 18 destinations, connecting to more than 500 destinations around the world. Since 2009, PSP origination and destination passengers have increased by 33%, according to GCVCC. It estimates the economic impact to be $3.2 billion dollars a year supporting 35,000 local jobs.
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“It’s a lot like a shop local program,” Bonner said. “When you start thinking about booking your summer vacation or for local businesses when they book when they book their business travel? Fly local.”
Local travelers were positive after hearing about the campaign.
“To me, it’s worth it not going to LAX and walk for 8 miles to get to the gate. So I always fly out of PSP,” Ann Muller of Palm Springs said.
“It’s really important to support the local economy anywhere and this airport,” Chuck Steltenpohl, a part-time resident of Palm Desert, said.
The pledge can be found here.
