SAN JOSE, Calif. -- This city has a certain sex appeal today that
promoters only could have dreamed of back in the days when Dionne
Warwick's "Do You Know the Way to San Jose?" was at the top of the
pop music charts.
The appeal comes from two words -- Silicon Valley -- which have
come to represent the high-technology culture of fast modems,
cellular phones and millionaires made by the minute.
"We don't have to struggle to create an identity anymore,"
according to Marian Holt McLain, the president of the San Jose
Convention and Visitors Bureau.
However, the bureau does have to struggle to convince leisure
travelers it is a destination worth visiting.
During the week, the city's hotels are full, its highways
clogged with traffic and the airport bustling -- all due to the
booming economy that has led to significant growth in business
travel to San Jose.
But on the weekends, hotel occupancies drop.
The bureau plans to use the dynamism of the area's economy as an
attraction for leisure travelers, according to McLain.
Plans are still in the works, but possibilities for itineraries
include Intel, the silicon chip giant, which has a museum devoted
to its technology; the Tech Museum of Innovation in downtown San
Jose, and many other technology corporations in the area, such as
Adobe.
"We're working with corporate colleagues in developing some
tours that visitors can take in a rental car, including driving by
the original garage [where Hewlett-Packard was founded]."
"We've even had requests from people who want to see places like
Yahoo!, with all the casually dressed young people working there
and seeing the coffee bars [they patronize]," McLain said.
"It's a unique culture, and people find it interesting because
they picture people with laptops and cell phones everywhere."
McLain concedes that marketing San Jose as a leisure destination
remains a challenge, but "it's still an opportunity."
"We also have a thriving arts and culture scene with theater and
music. We do think San Jose is worth a two- or three-night stay,"
she said.