Santa Monica Travel & Tourism

What Santa Monica Travel & Tourism does

Santa Monica Travel & Tourism (SMTT) is a private, non-profit Destination Marketing Organization (DMO) founded in 1982 and operating under contract to the City of Santa Monica. Its statutory purpose is to promote Santa Monica as a conference, business, and leisure travel destination and to serve as the marketing representative for the city's tourism economy. SMTT's funding derives from two public sources: the City of Santa Monica's general fund and the Tourism Marketing District (TMD) assessment, and the organization does not generate commercial revenue from visitors — all visitor-facing services are free of charge.

SMTT's service offering is a unified destination platform built around the santamonica.com website and three physical visitor center locations staffed by trained travel specialists. Digital products include a Trip Planner tool, downloadable Visitor Guides and maps, the Santa Monica Live real-time virtual experience, an Event Calendar, a direct hotel booking integration via santamonica.bookdirect.net, an email newsletter, and a Neighborhood Explorer covering Santa Monica's eight distinct neighborhoods. SMTT also maintains a broad social media presence (Facebook, X, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, Pinterest, TripAdvisor) and a Shopify-based retail storefront, and operates a dedicated Film Santa Monica sub-brand (filmsantamonica.com) for screen production promotion. The underlying technology stack is not disclosed and SMTT self-identifies as a DMO rather than a technology company.

The organization serves three constituencies: leisure travelers (primary), meeting planners and convention delegates, and local tourism businesses (hotels, restaurants, attractions, retailers). Go-to-market combines direct-to-consumer content marketing, physical visitor center service, travel trade marketing, and a contracted international AOR (Rocket Travel Marketing) for the UK and Ireland. SMTT holds accredited DMO status from Destinations International and is a Santa Monica Green Certified Business.

Name

Santa Monica Travel & Tourism

Legal name

Santa Monica Travel & Tourism

Website

https://santamonica.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1982

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Santa Monica Travel & Tourism is a non-profit Destination Marketing Organization, founded in 1982, that promotes Santa Monica, California as a leisure, business, and conference travel destination. Funded by the City of Santa Monica's general fund and Tourism Marketing District assessment, it operates three visitor centers, the santamonica.com platform, and trade marketing for local tourism businesses.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Destination Marketing Services

NAICS

Convention and Visitors Bureaus (561591)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Permitting, Reservations & Visitor Information Services (Passes, Booking, Visitor Centers) (THAAAGAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Meetings, Events & Group Travel Strategy (SMMP) (THACAMAE)

Keywords

• Destination marketing
• Tourism promotion
• Visitor services
• Travel trade marketing
• Convention marketing

Headquarters

HQ city

Santa Monica

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Tourism Marketing District Assessment: SMTT is funded by the City of Santa Monica's general fund and the Tourism Marketing District assessment. Under contract to the City of Santa Monica, SMTT promotes Santa Monica as a conference, business and leisure travel destination.
2. City of Santa Monica General Fund: SMTT receives funding from the City of Santa Monica's general fund as part of its contractual relationship to promote the destination.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Santa Monica Travel & Tourism (SMTT) is the official Destination Marketing Organization for Santa Monica, California. Under contract to the City of Santa Monica, it promotes the city as a conference, business, and leisure travel destination by operating three visitor center locations, running the santamonica.com destination website, and providing marketing representation for local hotels, restaurants, attractions, and cultural institutions.

Product overview

Santa Monica Travel & Tourism (SMTT) operates as a Destination Marketing Organization (DMO) offering a unified platform of visitor services and travel resources. The core offering consists of trip planning tools, visitor information services, and destination marketing support. Key products include the Trip Planner Tool, Visitor Guides & Maps, Santa Monica Live virtual experience, and an Event Calendar. SMTT also provides three physical Visitor Center locations with trained travel specialists, plus a hotel booking integration and newsletter subscription service. The organization promotes Santa Monica's eight distinct neighborhoods, attractions including Santa Monica Pier, beaches, arts venues, and wellness activities. As a non-profit marketing corporation funded by the City of Santa Monica's general fund and Tourism Marketing District assessment, SMTT acts as the marketing representative for local businesses and the community, focusing on conference, business, and leisure travel promotion.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Visitor Center Services In-person visitor information services delivered through three staffed visitor center locations in Santa Monica, providing travelers and travel trade professionals with maps, guides, and recommendations for the destination.
• Trip Planner Tool Online trip planning resource on santamonica.com that allows visitors to plan their Santa Monica visit, find attractions, restaurants, hotels, and create customized itineraries.
• Visitor Guide and Maps Comprehensive visitor guides and city maps available for download or mail order, providing information on attractions, hotels, dining, and travel tips for prospective Santa Monica visitors.
• Destination Marketing Services Marketing representation services for local Santa Monica businesses and the community as a whole, promoting Santa Monica as a conference, business, and leisure travel destination on behalf of hotels, restaurants, attractions, galleries, and retail establishments.
• Hotel Booking Integration Direct hotel booking tool allowing visitors to check rates and availability across Santa Monica hotels, inns, and resorts via the bookdirect.net integration.
• Event Calendar Comprehensive events calendar featuring annual events, seasonal festivals, cultural happenings, and special occasions throughout Santa Monica for visitor trip planning.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core, strategic and minor.

• Rocket Travel MarketingcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerRocket Travel Marketing serves as the Agency of Record for Santa Monica Travel & Tourism for the United Kingdom and Ireland market, conducting international destination marketing activities to promote Santa Monica as a leisure and business travel destination.
• Visit CaliforniastrategicGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership with the official California tourism marketing organization for broader destination promotion across state tourism initiatives.
• Visit The USAstrategicGTM or Marketing PartnerCollaboration with the official USA tourism marketing brand for international visitor promotion.
• Destinations InternationalstrategicGTM or Marketing PartnerMembership and accreditation organization for destination marketing organizations worldwide, providing industry standards and professional development.
• Santa Monica Green Business Program (SMGBC)minorOthersPartnership for environmental sustainability certification and promotion of green business practices.
• City of Santa MonicacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSMTT operates under contract to the City of Santa Monica as the official destination marketing organization, funded by the City's general fund and the Tourism Marketing District assessment.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Visit Anaheim: DMO for Anaheim, CA, also funded via a Tourism Improvement District assessment. Highly comparable city-level DMO with similar three-pillar mandate (leisure, meetings, travel trade) operating in Southern California.
• Choose Chicago: Official DMO for Chicago — comparable mid-to-large US city DMO with similar visitor center operations, marketing rep function for local hospitality businesses, and meetings/conventions emphasis. Strong structural peer from a non-coastal US city.
• Beverly Hills Conference & Visitors Bureau: Official DMO for Beverly Hills — adjacent LA-area city DMO with luxury travel positioning, strong meetings/conventions and shopping/dining focus. Directly competes for high-end Southern California leisure and group travel demand.
• Visit Huntington Beach: DMO for Huntington Beach, CA — fellow Orange/LA-coast-adjacent beach city DMO with similar TMD-style funding, beach/leisure positioning, and marketing remit for local hospitality businesses.
• Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau: Official DMO for Greater Miami — strong peer for a beach/coastal US destination with international leisure heavy mix, three-pillar mandate (leisure, meetings, travel trade), and resort/beach inventory comparable to Santa Monica.
• Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board: Official DMO for the City and County of Los Angeles. Most directly comparable organization: same metropolitan area, same meetings/conventions/leisure remit, similar TMD-style funding model, but operating at much larger scale across LA's broader destination footprint that competes with Santa Monica for visitor demand.
• Visit Long Beach: Official DMO for Long Beach, CA — a fellow Southern California coastal city with strong TMD-style assessment funding, three visitor centers, beach/attraction mix, and similar meetings and conventions focus. Closest scale and geography match to SMTT.

Broad incumbents

• Visit California: State-level DMO that is an explicit strategic partner of SMTT. Operates at broader California scale with state-level TMD and international marketing budget that wraps around city-level DMOs like SMTT.
• NYC & Company: DMO for New York City — much larger scale but comparable mandate (visitor centers, marketing rep for local businesses, leisure + conventions). Useful as a tier-up benchmark for city-DMO operating model.

Regional players

• Tourism Vancouver: DMO for Vancouver, BC — coastal city DMO operating outside US, comparable in scale and three-pillar mandate but in a different market; useful international peer for SMTT's UK/Ireland agency-of-record work and cross-border best-practice comparison.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/gosantamonica
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/TravelSantaMonica
• Facebookfacebook.com/visitsantamonica
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/santa-monica-travel-and-tourism
• Instagraminstagram.com/seesantamonica
• Pinterestpinterest.com/lovesantamonica

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Santa Monica Travel & Tourism