For Immediate Release:
Ventura, Calif. (September 3, 2026) – Visit Ventura is proud to announce that it has received the U.S. Travel Association ESTO Award for Excellence in Print Marketing for its 2025 Inspiration Guide. This is the second time the organization has won an ESTO award in its history.
The 2025 Inspiration Guide is an annual publication created in partnership with Wanderlust Content Studios, whose core team has worked with Visit Ventura since 2017. The guide is designed to promote tourism by inspiring visitors in key markets to plan multi-day, overnight stays in Ventura.
While the guide is popular amongst locals and visitors alike each year it is released, 2025 was certainly special. The custom cover artwork, commissioned from a local artist, is full of the iconic places that make Ventura so special. The colorful and playful “Where’s Waldo” style artwork connected with our audience, and the team decided that the art shouldn’t be constrained to the cover of the magazine.
A giveaway featuring limited-edition custom Ventura Vans shoes with the cover art resulted in not only incredible lead generation and engagement but also a hunger for the Inspiration Guide. In the visitor center, the 11 distinct products featuring the cover art have generated over $9,000 in sales since the guide was released in January 2025.
“Everything we do now is about creating an experience, and we didn’t want this artwork to live only on the cover of the magazine,” said Marlyss Auster, President and CEO of Visit Ventura. “We found ways to really bring it to life: people can wear it on a pair of Ventura Vans, see it moving across the homepage on our website, spot it traveling along the California coast on the Amtrak Pacific Surfliner train, and even get a chance to experience Ventura for themselves through a giveaway. It’s been amazing to see the cover art become larger than life, thanks to our partners, our creative team, and our local community.”
And perhaps the team’s proudest achievement? A partnership with Amtrak Pacific Surfliner brought the cover to life through a cover wrap on the train with an in-house design, showcasing the 2025 Inspiration Guide. The wrap can be seen along 351 miles of the California coastline, serving 29 stations. The wrap’s expanded media value and brand awareness are beyond the team’s wildest dreams. The Ventura station alone sees between 32,400 and 49,200 boardings per year.
“Partnering with Visit Ventura allows the Pacific Surfliner to do what we do best: connect people to places,” said Alyssa Dowdalls, Marketing & Communications Manager at LOSSAN. “By tapping directly into the communities we serve, we’re not just selling train tickets; we’re inviting travelers to slow down and discover the character that makes California so special. This partnership reflects our shared commitment to sustainable, accessible travel that benefits both visitors and the local economy.”
In addition to printing 65,000 copies, the digital version has received 7,400 reads, with readers spending an average of six minutes and 37 seconds on the piece, according to April 2026 data. Compared to the typical 15–55 seconds on a typical web page, this represents a 550% increase in time.
Social media giveaways promoting the cover artwork have generated more than 2,300 potential visitors requesting the magazine via direct mail. The investment in original cover artwork by a local artist has paid off in spades, especially through custom Ventura Vans shoes used in two key giveaways. The first resulted in 86.2k impressions and 2.4k leads from California, Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, and Utah. In total, 8,306 Inspiration Guides were mailed. A hyper-local Thanksgiving giveaway generated 22.4k views, 893 likes, 330 shares, and 240 comments.
And while numbers are important, community sentiment is equally important. Visitors and locals are still calling or messaging about the special Ventura Vans, and the train wrap cruising along the Pacific Ocean is a familiar sight on social media.
Amidst a challenging economic climate and a tourism industry facing challenges, Visit Ventura is proud to share that the Ventura Inspiration Guide is a pillar of the community, stimulating local economic growth and, most of all, a celebration of hometown pride.
