Chamber News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 5, 2021

CONTACT:
Stephanie Armstrong, Chief Marketing Officer
Santa Barbara South Coast Chamber of Commerce
Phone: 805.967.2500     Ext. 102
Email: stephanie@sbscchamber.com | marjorie@witmarkgroup.com

Chamber Celebrates Tourism Rebound at Santa Barbara Airbus Ribbon Cutting

GOLETA, CA – The Santa Barbara South Coast Chamber of Commerce and Santa Barbara Airbus invite media to join as we celebrate Santa Barbara Airbus’ reopening on May 6^th with service resuming to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). 

Tourism and business travel both play a significant role in the economic vitality of our region. The Chamber is excited to see tourism numbers increase as visitors come enjoy the South Coast safely.

Kristen Miller, president and CEO of the Santa Barbara South Coast Chamber of Commerce, shares, “We are delighted to mark this moment of reopening with our long-time members at Santa Barbara Airbus. Having a variety of options for connectivity for our travelers is so important and the Chamber is a champion for making sure air service at our local airport and LAX is accessible.”

The travel and hospitality industries have been impacted greatly throughout the COVID-19 Pandemic and subsequent economic crisis. Recovery is expected to take several years, but the Chamber is seeing positive signs of rebound.

Santa Barbara Airbus closed its doors in March of 2020 as the pandemic intensified and travel demand plummeted, but now plans to reopen on May 6th in time for late spring and summer travel. Santa Barbara Airbus will resume LAX shuttles on May 6th, with 10 trips a day of daily service to and from LAX.

“Santa Barbara Airbus is so grateful to be able to resume operations safely,” said General Manager Samantha Onnen. We are glad to see that tourism and business travel is coming back and that people are feeling comfortable getting back out into the world.”

Tomorrow’s ribbon cutting is the first one of this year for the Santa Barbara South Coast Chamber of Commerce. Due to social distancing and safety guidelines, only media is invited to attend. The Ribbon Cutting will be held at 11 a.m. at Santa Barbara Airbus at 750 Technology Dr, Goleta, CA 93117.

The Santa Barbara South Coast Chamber of Commerce will be sending out weekly emails to local hospitality partners and hotel concierge that will provide up to date information on business openings, closures, hours of operation, and information for signature visitor destinations. If you are a hotel or hospitality partner that wishes to receive this resource please contact Ruairi Bateson, Visitor Center Manager, via email by clicking here.

In January we ran a campaign calling on support from our elected officials and community leaders to address the December shutdown orders and the impacts to our business community. We found our campaign very effective and would like to thank them for their support as we are now in the orange tier.

Our businesses will now be working hard to recover our communities. We continue to champion this effort and support our businesses in their recovery.

Santa Barbara South Coast Chamber President Kristen Miller addressed homelessness effects on businesses during the pandemic.

“When visitors come to Santa Barbara and they see the sign on the freeway that sends them to our Garden St. visitor center, that is one of the paths that is the most impacted by encampments. So the visual blight and the heartbreak of seeing that in our hometown, it makes it look like we don’t care, or we don’t know how to fix this, and I think we do” said Miller.
To read the full article, click here.

As part of the response to the homeless crisis in our community, SB Act facilitates a weekly Waterfront Regional Action Plan (RAP) to engage stakeholders that are committed to creating and implementing solutions to homelessness.
Join us this Wednesday, April 28th from 3:00 – 4:00 PM as we hear a presentation on bridge housing from Sylvia Barnard, Executive Director of Good Samaritan Shelter. Sylvia will present general information on this temporary housing model and be available for questions.
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting Link: https://zoom.us/j/99306012760
Meeting ID: 993 0601 2760

Santa Barbara South Coast and Santa Maria Chambers of Commerce Urge Hispanic Business Owners
to Apply for PPP

The Santa Barbara South Coast Chamber of Commerce and Santa Maria Chamber of Commerce recognize the importance that Hispanic and minority-owned businesses have in the community. As they have shared COVID-19 information and resources with community business owners, they have identified a gap. While many Hispanic-owned businesses have already taken steps to apply for financial assistance through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), there are still a number of smaller, local businesses that have not yet done so. While there is still time to apply, funding is quickly being distributed and may run out prior to the May deadline. To read more, click here.

Recently the SBA shared long-awaited details on the $28.6 billion Restaurant Revitalization Fund, including a sample application and program guide found here.

The Chamber recommends you prepare for the Restaurant Revitalization Fund. If you have questions on who can apply or how to apply, click here.
Sign up to receive email alerts from SBA as additional information about the Restaurant Revitalization Fund becomes available, click here.

This past Monday, the Chambers in Santa Barbara County hosted a zoom roundtable meeting to discuss a County proposal that would allow microenterprise home kitchen operations (MHKO) to be permitted within all areas of Santa Barbara County.

The Board of Supervisor will be voting on this ordinance at their May 11th meeting. For more information on this topic from the County, click here.

It’s not too late to explore this engaging and informative session as a recording. To view the webinar recording, click here.

The Santa Barbara South Coast Chamber of Commerce, from Goleta to Carpinteria will host a virtual State of the City – Goleta for release on Friday, May 21st at 9:00 AM.

Guest speakers include: Mayor Paula Perotte; Michelle Greene, City Manager; Mark Linehan, Camino Real Marketplace; Arie Dejong, Goleta Valley Cottage Hospital and Donna Lewis,
Goleta Union School District.

Sponsorships are still available, please contact
Michele Schneider – Director of Business Development
Michele@sbscchamber.com (805) 967-2500 x105