Santa’s Wonderland KBTX News 3 Segment

July 30, 2025

Transcript

00:00Well, we are in the heat of summer, but if you are keeping track, we're less than six months

00:05from Christmas. Some College Station residents are getting in the spirit already. The members

00:09of the Tourism Committee are set to review plans today to help boost the number of visitors during

00:14the holiday season. Nicole Marino is live in studio with details. Nicole. The City of College

00:19Station's Tourism Committee is meeting this afternoon, and on the agenda, one of the items

00:24is discussing a contract renewal with Santa's Wonderland. Ahead of that, I looked into how

00:29much the partnership actually benefits the city. According to Visit College Station, the

00:35city has invested over half a million dollars into Santa's Wonderland since 2020. While 21%

00:41of people who visit the tourist attraction get a hotel and spend the night, many others head

00:46back home. Jeremiah Cook with Visit College Station says this is something they prepare

00:51for. Part of the agreement, we get some signage within Santa's Wonderland. They can see a QR

00:57code there, maybe they click on it, and all of a sudden they are hit with all the events

01:02that are going on in town, or maybe the restaurants or the hotels that have certain deals.

01:07Visit College Station says last year over 300,000 people came in town for the tourist attraction.

01:14Live in studio, Nicole Marino, KBTX News. Thanks, Nicole. Well, the College Station Tourism Committee

01:20is meeting today, and they've got their sights set on the winter holidays. They'll discuss city Christmas

01:26plans and a contract renewal for Santa's Wonderland. Nicole Marino is live in studio with more.

01:31Nicole. The College Station Tourism Committee is fairly new and aims to drive economic growth

01:36throughout the city with tourism. When visitors think of College Station, Aggie football is at

01:42the top of the draw, but just south on Highway 6 is an Arctic operation that brings hundreds

01:48of thousands of visitors each year. And today, the city is looking to renew its contract with Santa's

01:54Wonderland. According to Visit College Station, 71% of people who visit Santa's Wonderland traveled over

02:0150 miles. 46.8% came from areas like Houston, Austin, and surrounding regions. Nearly 18% traveled 100 to 250

02:11miles, and data shows there's been about an 8% turnout of people from California, Florida, and Illinois. But the U.S.

02:20states that outnumbered the other 45 were Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and California. And in 2024,

02:27over 200,000 visitors were first-time guests. While 21% of people who visit Santa's Wonderland gets to stay

02:35in a hotel and spends the night, Jeremiah Cook with Visit College Station says the Tourism Committee hopes

02:41to kick up that percentage. They go to Santa's Wonderland, stay a night in that hotel room. What could we do to

02:47ensure that they don't wake up the next morning and grab a donut on the way out? What can we do to

02:52ensure that they stay here in College Station, that they eat in our restaurants, maybe they even stay

02:56another hotel night? According to Visit College Station, Santa's Wonderland is one of the largest

03:02employers in the Brazos Valley, aiming to hire over 2,000 people for the upcoming holiday season.

03:09Live in studio, Nicole Marino, KVTX News. Thanks, Nicole.