Novato annual tourism report highlights social media efforts

Novato is leveraging social media to boost day trips, brewery visits and lodging.

The City Council unanimously approved $200,000 for the Novato Chamber of Commerce for fiscal year 2025-26 on Sept. 9. Council members were briefed on the chamber’s annual report, which highlighted its social media efforts.

“We recognize how important tourism is to Novato’s economy, and not just for visitors but for our local workforce and business sectors,” city analyst Kate McCoy said. “When we strengthen tourism, we strengthen the city as a whole.”

The city has been in various agreements with the Novato Chamber of Commerce since 1987, when the city agreed to share a portion of its transient occupancy tax with the organization to promote tourism and convention trade.

The business network operates the visitor center and an outdoor kiosk, and runs digital marketing campaigns, according to Garrett Grialou, chair of its tourism committee.

The committee ran more than 30 targeted campaigns and hundreds of ads from June 2024 to June 2025. For the first time, the Chamber of Commerce advertised at the Charles M. Schulz–Sonoma County Airport. It also advertised draft breweries in Novato.

“It’s really been very successful, with a lot of interest on social media,” Grialou said.

The organization specifically embraced social media influencers. Three content creators based in the Bay Area were chosen to take part in a social media effort that showcased Novato as a weekend travel destination. During the campaign, Instagram followers increased by 28% and TikTok followers grew by 450%, according to a staff report.

“They came out here either as a couple or as a family and blogged about Novato and it was really fantastic to see how much traction that gained,” Grialou said.

Across all social media platforms, Visit Novato has more than 32,000 followers. Over the past fiscal year, 338 people downloaded a brochure, around 8,800 clicked on an ad and more than 47,700 clicked on a hotel website.

“Our principal charge is to drive overnight hotel accommodations,” Grialou said.

Councilmember Mark Milberg said he believes there will be more day trips to Novato because of the SMART train. Councilmember Kevin Jacobs said the city should capitalize on its proximity to Wine Country.

“We’re 45 minutes to Napa, 40 minutes to Sonoma, 40 minutes to north of Santa Rosa, Healdsburg, Mendocino and the coast, and it’s never been used by tourism, chamber, downtown business, anybody,” Jacobs said.

Mayor Pro Tempore Rachel Farac said Novato is pet friendly and asked if there are plans to emphasize that on social media. Grialou said it hasn’t been pursued, but the committee could look into it.

“That might be an area of opportunity and definitely I think it would grow a different dynamic or different type of person,” Farac said.