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7 SP <br />Final Report March 1997 <br />Introduction <br />San Marcos can capitalize on "ambiance" tourism -- people will visit, stay, and shop <br />simply because San Marcos is a pleasant and interesting place to be. Currently over <br />4.4 million people shop at the discount malls annually, but few of these visit San Marcos. <br />If only 3% of these shoppers will visit San Marcos and spend S70 each, direct sales in <br />San Marcos would increase by $9,240,000 annually. <br />In late summer 1996, San Marcos Mayor Billy Moore appointed 34 members to the <br />Mayor's Blue Ribbon Committee for Tourism Development to formulate and promote a <br />vision for tourism development, and make recommendations for action to the City <br />Council. The committee was charged with the following tasks to be completed in six <br />months: <br />1. Identify product inventory; <br />2. Analyze tourism demand; <br />3. Identify potential products; <br />4. Coordinate tourism development with other community priorities; <br />5. Develop a strategy to stimulate and coordinate new product development; and <br />6. Develop a report and make recommendations to the City Council. <br />Names of the Mayor's Blue Ribbon Committee for Tourism Development, travel to Texas <br />tables, an inventory of existing tourism products, and a list of new products and <br />associated infrastructure are in the appendices of this report. <br />Tourism Development Vision Statement <br />The Mayor's Blue Ribbon Committee on Tourism Development adopted the following <br />vision statement for tourism development in San Marcos: <br />San AYfarcos is a natural crossroads of Texas. Its springs offer hospitality between the <br />prairie and the hills as they have for thousands ofyears. The area, a Spanish land grant, <br />was shaped by cotton planters and ranchers, merchants and teachers, Rangers and a <br />President. San Marcos continues to welcome the variety of people who make zip Texas. <br />Diversity is the essence of San Marcos. <br />Our vision is that San Marcos will attract visitors by providing an ambiance that <br />celebrates its natural setting and its historical, cultural, and geographic diversity. San <br />Marcos can be the meeting place of all that is Texan in the past, present, and future. <br />Mayor's Blue Ribbon Committee on Tourism Development Page 3