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Welcome to the Hermosa Beach Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau Website. What makes the Hermosa Beach Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau such a special organization? Our 350 members, and a host of programs aimed at educating, organizing, and promoting business in our community. As we enter our 91st year, we can be proud of our achievements during the past nine decades. With such a strong history of accomplishments, it is especially important to create strong marketing and advertising programs that sales in-town, and with out-of-town visitors. As a Chamber of Commerce, the organization supports the views of business in the political and civic arenas. During the past few years, the Chamber has worked to help educate restaurant patrons about drinking and driving, retain the 310 Area Code for South Bay businesses, keep the El Segundo Air Force Base open, and fight environmental issues such as LAX noise and air pollution. We have endorsed new signage laws for storefronts, worked to fight an increase in business license and hotel taxes, and educated restaurant personnel about public safety issues and state laws for serving alcohol. To support the community at large, we have saluted our Longtime Residents, honored the top 20 Sales Tax Producers, awarded the annual Man and Woman of the Year Awards, and recognized the efforts of our Police and Firefighters. We also contribute scholarships to top scholars from Mira Costa High School and Redondo Union High School. For 31 years, The Chamber has hosed a special event which has literally put the town on the map. Our bi-annual Arts and Crafts Fair, Fiesta Hermosa, brings between 100,000 and 120,000 visitors to our town every Memorial Day and Labor Day three-day weekends. Even better, the Fiesta Hermosa introduces these visitors to our town, and they return time and time again to patronize our local businesses. Independent research shows that 84% of Fiesta attendees visit our shops and restaurants, 24% spend $100 or more, and another 50% spend $50 or more. 52% of the attendees stated that they returned to Hermosa Beach 5 times or more during the year, 18% on 4 occasions, and 16% on 2 occasions. 72% classified themselves as diners and shoppers, which is good for our local businesses! The Fiestas have literally put us on the map - introducing outsiders to our quiet seaside community and growing it to our current size of 1.3 square miles and 18,500 residents. Our membership is both diverse and universal. Most of our member businesses are small and independently owned and operated. They share many of the same concerns, such as adequate parking for customers, bold signage, rising energy, and employee rate increases, and safety concerns. The Chamber hosts monthly Mixers and Special Events to provide our members with maximum marketing exposure. Our monthly full page color ads in the Easy Reader, Ribbon Cuttings, and our Fashion Shows on the Plaza all help to attract business to local shop owners. The Chamber also hosts a "Stay Sober" booth on New Year's Eve in the middle of Pier Plaza. As a Visitors Bureau, we have launched the first major advertising campaign to bring tourists to Hermosa Beach. Tourism is good for business, and the Chamber has used its own funds to purchase ads in Sunset Magazine, newspaper travel sections in Riverside, Ventura, and Bakersfield, and an ad in the annual California Visitors Guide. Before the campaign was launched, the Chamber distributed about 500 tourism packages annually by fax, mail, and e-mail. We assist over 3,000 walk-in visitors to the office, and another 250,000 visitors on our website. With our new marketing campaign, we expect to increase the number of tourism requests substantially. Each year, we assist and refer over 750 Hermosa callers to local agencies, schools, utility companies, and city offices. We mail over 1,000 free community relocation packages and refer to our member realtors and apartment complexes. We also provide city information to 1,800 callers who would otherwise be re-directed to City Hall. For 91 years, the Hermosa Beach Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau has been a vibrant part of the town's history. We look forward to growing with the community, and expanding our focus on tourism and special events. As you peruse this site, you will discover both the charm and the change in our tiny community. And you will come to believe that, indeed, "Hermosa means beautiful". Welcome! |
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