Business community packs tourism forum

By Soren Hemmila

Sausalito Chamber of Commerce CEO Oonagh Kavanagh said tourism is valuable to the local economy, and the city can balance the needs of residents and business owners.

“There is no point in beginning hostile to each other,” Kavanagh said. “We have an extremely high proportion of independent family-run organizations here.”

Retail, hospitality, and tourism generate $82 million a year for Sausalito, according to a 2102 study by the Marin Economic Forum cited by Kavanagh.

“Our businesses love local customers, but they cannot survive on local business alone. We are a town of 7,000 people. We would not have survived the recession if it were not for tourism,” she said.

Read  Marinscope article