Tourism Hot Spot: Try the Desert
There's a lot to do out there... way out there
Sunday, Mar 14, 2010 | Updated 2:00 PM PST
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A Joshua tree forest is shown in Pipes Canyon Wilderness Preserve.
California's deserts are more likely to catch the attention of more tourists if they are promoted across a wider platform. That's the word from a group of tourism and hospitality organizations who comprise the California Deserts Visitors Association.
The group's job is to promote tourism from Death Valley to Calexico. As part of that goal, they're attempting to secure a $30,000 marketing match from the state's travel commission, the Desert Sun reported.
Steve Brown, the association's president, said although the rural communities in this part of Southern California have little connection with each other, there are benefits to getting resources together to market the area.
"It's almost overwhelming," Brown told the newspaper of the desert's vastness. "But our national parks and our state parks are major draws."
During the scorching summer months many tourists flock to the desert. They visit the salt flats near Badwater, walk through miles of Joshua trees and explore the mud pots at the Salton Sea, the Desert Sun reported.
Yet many people in and outside of Southern California don't know about all of the interesting attractions the desert has to offer. Some marketing is necessary to reach tourists everywhere, Brown said.
