About Us
Visit Greater Palm Springs (VGPS) is the official tourism marketing agency for the Coachella Valley, which comprises the nine cities of Palm Springs, Desert Hot Springs, Cathedral City, Rancho Mirage, Palm Desert, Indian Wells, La Quinta, Indio, and Coachella, as well as unincorporated areas of Riverside County. Founded in May 1989 by a Joint Powers Authority, VGPS was created as a public-private partnership to help grow the region’s tourism economy and now serves more than 3,000 business partners, providing sales, marketing, and PR targeted to potential leisure travelers and event, meeting, and convention group markets.
Supporting 1 in 4 local jobs, tourism is the largest industry in Greater Palm Springs, welcoming 14.4 million visitors in 2023 who generated $9 billion in total economic impact. In addition to supporting local businesses, these visitors help fund vital public services through state and local tax revenue, which was an estimated $851 million in 2023 (the equivalent to $5,500 in tax savings for every local household).
Meet Our Team & Board.
Priority Areas of Focus
VGPS has evolved over the years beyond sales and marketing to include workforce and economic development, as the future success of the tourism industry in the Coachella Valley depends on many factors: the availability of a trained workforce, affordable housing for the workforce, new and enhanced visitor experiences and attractions, enhancements to sustainability, and continued improvements to transportation access.
With the direction of its Board of Directors and JPA Committee, VGPS has established the following priorities areas of focus for the destination:
Grow the Tourism Economy
- Leisure Marketing – Domestic & International
- Attract New Meetings, Conventions & Events
- Develop Demand for Need Periods, Leisure & Group
- Develop Research / Measure Impact & Effectiveness
- Vacation Rentals
- Educate Community & Homeowners
- Develop Best Practices
Regional Collaboration
- Grow Air Service & Support New Transportation Options
- DEI, Sustainability, Accessibility, Cultural Heritage
- Workforce Development / TEAM GPS
- Diversify Regional Economy
- Advocacy - Capital Advocacy selected
Core Values
Through employee collaboration and input, the following core values were established for our organization. We uphold these values in everything we do, from reaching out and interacting with visitors, our partners, and our community to embodying the values each day as we go about our work.
