Industry Events

See below for a list of upcoming events produced or endorsed by Visit Santa Barbara:

Visit Santa Barbara’s Annual General Meeting
This annual, celebratory luncheon coincides with National Travel and Tourism week in May and is a wonderful opportunity to network with industry peers and make local connections. More information coming soon.

Click here to learn more.

Visit Santa Barbara’s Tourism Summit
This annual event is typically in the fall or winter to inform about travel trends, industry updates and tourism-specific data and attendees are invited to a reception following the event.

Click here for more information.

Lunch & Learn
These monthly educational meetings and webinars are informational training on public relations/media, social media trends, marketing promotions, cooperative programs, and much more. Previous Lunch & Learn sessions have covered travel trade, public relations and partnering with VSB, hotel performance and STR reports, and using new social media platforms such as TikTok. Invitations are sent out each month to VSB members.

Click here to view past Lunch & Learn topics.

I Am Santa Barbara
A free, educational training program designed for frontline hospitality staff to become Santa Barbara Ambassadors. This is offered monthly and attendees will have a chance to further their knowledge of the Santa Barbara South Coast, win a variety of prizes, and also receive an official certificate at the conclusion of the session.

Please email [email protected] to learn more, donate a prize or host your own training.

Hospitality Inspiration Campaign
The recently launched Hospitality Career Inspiration Campaign, funded by Visit Santa Barbara and the Santa Barbara South Coast Chamber, aims to attract and retain employees within the hospitality industry by sharing stories of locals thriving in visitor-facing jobs. Hospitality businesses that have open positions to fill are encouraged to post them on the website.

Click here to utilize this free resource to connect with job seekers.

VSB Meet & Mingle
Visit Santa Barbara hosts occasional Meet & Mingle events that are a great opportunity to connect and network with fellow VSB members with the goal of making meaningful connections and discovering ways to collaborate with other businesses.

New Member Open House
Members who are new to Visit Santa Barbara can host an open house event in their space to showcase their business to fellow Visit Santa Barbara members. These events are meant to encourage connection, communication and collaboration among the hospitality industry and an opportunity for new members to highlight their current offerings.

For questions and more information, contact [email protected]
Please check back as more events and networking opportunities are announced.