”
Welcome to Gilroy!
”
will be heard by thousands more visitors as the Gilroy Visitors
Bureau smartly moves it’s office location from north Monterey Road
to the outlet mall. Where better to engage visitors than our most
visited
”
attraction?
”
With the move comes a name change to the
”
Gilroy Welcome Center.
”
“Welcome to Gilroy!” will be heard by thousands more visitors as the Gilroy Visitors Bureau smartly moves it’s office location from north Monterey Road to the outlet mall. Where better to engage visitors than our most visited “attraction?” With the move comes a name change to the “Gilroy Welcome Center.”
Thousands come each week to find the best deal at one of the busiest outlet malls in the country. Our highway crossroads location is a perfect spot to woo bargain shoppers, so why not take advantage of those numbers and tell them about all the other Gilroy possibilities? The rent is only $1 a month and the Welcome Center will probably reach more people on two weekends than the old GVB location reached in a year. Honestly, this is a no-brainer.
GVB Executive Director Jane Howard reports a dwindling number showing up at the GVB doors at the present location. The Internet has slashed walk-in traffic. At the outlet mall, the walk-in traffic is already there.
The Welcome Center will hand out information on wine tasting, Gilroy Gardens, and be able to give directions to places to eat downtown or direct them to a garlic-packed spice store down the road.
The Welcome Center is applying to sell local wines and will offer a small selection of specialty items – key chains, garlic bulb notepads and aprons, for example – from the Garlic Festival, Gilroy Gardens and Casa de Fruta. The specialty items are being sold on consignment.
Partnering with the outlet mall and giving our Welcome Center an exponential leap in exposure is good for business throughout Gilroy.
It’s a smart move that should be embraced and supported by the community. The Welcome Center will need help, of course. Businesses with brochures and information should make sure to keep the shelves at the center well stocked.
Volunteers who would like to help promote our community are also needed. Simply contact Pam Gimenez at the Gilroy Visitors Bureau at 842-6436 or send her an email to in**@gi***********.org.
The GVB Board and Director Howard are to be commended for heading in a new direction to let more people know about everything we have to offer. Our community is much more than outlet malls and now there’s the potential for many more people to appreciate that and spread the wealth to other local businesses.
