TOURISM INDUSTRY NEWS & RESOURCES
January 12, 2021
This partner communication exists to provide timely information on Sonoma County’s tourism and hospitality industry, along with resources to help partners navigate through the COVID-19 crisis and beyond.
2020 Annual Tourism Report
The Sonoma County Economic Development Board (EDB), in partnership with Sonoma County Tourism, is pleased to bring you the 2020 Annual Tourism Report. The report contains a tourism analysis from Moody’s Analytics, tourism industry indicators, and the Sonoma County visitor profile. You can access the 2020 Annual Tourism Report here.
Airport RFP for Food & Beverage Kiosk Concession
The Charles M. Schulz – Sonoma County Airport, invites qualified businesses and individuals to submit a proposal to provide pre-packaged (aka grab-n-go) food and beverage service in the post-security portion of Gate 2 serving departing passengers and airport personnel. The beverage service may include the sale of alcohol with the appropriate State of California Alcohol Beverage Control license.

This solicitation is a precursor to an all-inclusive food and beverage concession RFP that will be released next year upon completion of the new terminal expansion project. The Charles M. Schulz – Sonoma County Airport is a non-hub, commercial airport owned and operated by the County of Sonoma.

The RFP may be viewed on the County Transportation and Public Works website here. To register and submit a response to the RFP, please visit Supplier Portal Link Sonoma County. The deadline for submitting a proposal is February 10 at 3:00 p.m.
SCT Wants to Hear From You
Sonoma County Tourism sent out a survey last week designed to measure the current economic situation for Sonoma County hospitality and tourism facing businesses. We plan to release a summary of the data next week, but in the meantime, if you have not taken the survey but would be willing to do so, you can access it here.
 
Additionally, as SCT develops programming for our recovery as well as long-term destination marketing, we want to understand what you need from SCT. Keep an eye out for a partner survey that will be coming to your inbox in the next several days. We’ll also include a link to the survey on the Partner Extranet of our website. Thank you in advance for taking time to complete the survey. Your answers will be critical in helping us craft our recovery framework and FY21-23 strategic plan.
Financial Resources 
Application deadline for COVID-19 Relief Grant Program

Reminder: The Round 1 application window for the California Small Business COVID-19 Relief Grant Program closes tomorrow, Wednesday January 13, at 11:59 p.m.

Applicants who submit their application and all documentation in the first round do not need to reapply; qualified applications will be automatically rolled over into the next funding round for consideration.

To review eligibility requirements, visit careliefgrant.com.
Paycheck Protection Program Reopened

The Small Business Administration (SBA) reopened the Paycheck Protection Program loan portal yesterday for First Draw PPP loan applications.

New borrowers can submit applications now. If you have exhausted your first PPP loan, the loan process for your second draw will be available beginning tomorrow, January 13. 

To learn more, visit the Small Business Administration website here.
Sonoma County and Safeway Partner for Vaccination Clinics
Sonoma County has partnered with Safeway to administer COVID-19 vaccinations to County health workers and, eventually, the broader public. Beginning on Wednesday, Jan. 13, Safeway pharmacists will begin vaccinating some 5,000 in-home supportive services (IHSS) workers in the County. These Phase 1a Tier 2 healthcare workers will be contacted through the county Human Services Department and asked to schedule an appointment for the drive-through clinic located at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds. They will be vaccinated using the County’s supply of Moderna vaccine.

Safeway has also been granted state approval to provide vaccinations from 11 of its pharmacies throughout the County. Beginning next week, IHSS workers will be able to receive vaccinations at these locations. As Sonoma County moves through the rollout of vaccinations, Safeway eventually will provide vaccines to members of the public as well. The County is hoping that service will begin by the beginning of February, but it's uncertain at this time.

You can learn where Sonoma County is in the vaccination distribution plan and which phase you fall under by visiting the vaccine information page at SoCoEmergency.org/vaccine.
State of the Travel Industry Livestream Address
Join U.S. Travel Association President and CEO Roger Dow on January 27 at 10 a.m. for U.S. Travel’s annual update on the state of the American travel industry. The hour-long address will cover the relief and stimulus policy priorities that will be necessary to help safely reignite domestic and international inbound travel to accelerate our industry’s rebound in the year ahead. U.S. Travel will also release its ambitious and comprehensive Power of Travel Platform.

You can register for the State of the Travel Industry livestream address here.
Sonoma County Tourism has a Coronavirus Partner Toolkit regularly updated here.

The Sonoma County Economic Development Board has compiled a comprehensive list of local, state, and government resources (including financing options) for businesses at their SoCo Launch website here.
Get tested and help Sonoma County eliminate the coronavirus. Broad COVID-19 viral testing is now available. Learn more here.

The County of Sonoma’s SoCo Emergency webpage offers COVID-19 resources, support, and information.