Table of Contents

Top 10 Global Markets for Sonoma County

  1. Canada
  2. United Kingdom
  3. Germany
  4. Australia
  5. France
  6. China
  7. Mexico
  8. Japan
  9. Denmark
  10. Republic of Ireland

Top 10 Domestic Markets for Sonoma County

  1. San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, CA
  2. Sacramento-Yolo, CA
  3. Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County, CA
  4. New York-Northern New Jersey
  5. San Diego, CA
  6. Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton, WA
  7. Chicago-Gary-Kenosha, IL
  8. Washington-Baltimore, DC
  9. Phoenix-Mesa, AZ
  10. Portland-Salem, OR-WA

Source: 2017 VisaVue Annual Data, which measures sales volume and cardholder count (only for sales physically made in Sonoma County) of Visa-branded cards by international and domestic visitors.

Global Market Profiles

1.  UNITED STATES
Average Spend Per Trip (California Residents): $245
Drive (California Residents): 90.8%
With Children Younger than 18 (California Residents): 28.2%

2. CANADA
Average Spend Per Trip: $1,202
Average Length of Stay: 10 nights
Vacation/Holiday: 45%

3. UNITED KINGDOM
Average Spend Per Trip: $1,525
Average Length of Stay: 11.1 nights
Vacation/Holiday: 86%

4. GERMANY
Average Spend Per Trip: $1,391
Average Length of Stay: 10.8 nights
Vacation/Holiday: 92%

5. AUSTRALIA
Average Spend Per Trip: $1,699
Average Length of Stay: 8.5 nights
Vacation/Holiday: 91%

6. FRANCE
Average Spend Per Trip: $1,773
Average Length of Stay: 11.4 nights
Vacation/Holiday: 89%

7. CHINA
Average Spend Per Trip: $1,504
Average Length of Stay: 9.5 nights
Vacation/Holiday: 84%

8. MEXICO
Average Spend Per Trip: $984
Average Length of Stay: 7.6 nights
Vacation/Holiday: 76%

9. JAPAN
Average Spend Per Trip: $1,716
Average Length of Stay: 6 nights
Vacation/Holiday: 83%

10. SCANDINAVIA (Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Finland)
Average Spend Per Trip: $1,164
Average Length of Stay: 12 nights
Vacation/Holiday: 85%

(Source: Visit California. Discover more about each market here.)

Tradeshows & Sales Missions

Throughout the year the Tourism Development Team attends key domestic and international tradeshows and sales missions to establish or maintain travel trade relationships in our core markets. Some of these shows/missions will be open to Sonoma County partners interested in extending their marketing reach. The team will also attend essential industry conferences/seminars to stay abreast of current and emerging trends, products, and technology.

Here is a sample of some of the major tradeshows, sales missions, and industry conferences that the team may attend:

Tradeshows & Sales Missions

  • Australia & New Zealand Sales Mission (with VisitUSA or Visit California)
  • IFTM Top Resa, France
  • IPW, location varies
  • ITB Berlin, Germany
  • VCA Asia Mission, Korea & Japan
  • VCA UK Sales Mission, UK & Ireland

Industry Education:

  • VCA Outlook Forum
  • Destinations International

The Importance of Airports

Sonoma County Airport (STS)

Sonoma County's regional airport provides gateways to key domestic markets. (You can find more information on the non-stop flights into Sonoma County here. That said, educating the travel trade on all the direct flights is essential to keeping Sonoma County top-of-mind as an easily accessible destination. Also, you can find more information on the Alaska Airlines 'Wine Flies Free' program here.

International Gateway Airports

Like their domestic counterparts, international airports provide an even greater reach to long-haul markets; every time a new direct flight opens this translates to more potential international visitors to Sonoma County. Below, you can find out more about the non-stop flights into each of Sonoma County's key international gateway airports:

International Offices

Sonoma County Tourism has contracts with international offices to promote Sonoma County as an overnight destination through emerging and established travel trade channels and media outlets.

Each of the below offices has two dedicated representatives-a Travel Trade and PR Manager-who promote Sonoma County on a limited basis (as they oversee multiple destination accounts):

  • MSi (Germany)

Sonoma County Tourism also has two limited marketing contracts with the following offices (no dedicated representatives):

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