Influencers capture, promote California's abundant experiences

In an effort to further showcase the breadth and diversity of what the Golden State has to offer, Visit California recently hosted eight domestic influencer trips highlighting culinary travel, accessibility, sustainability and The Ultimate Playground.

Culinary Influencer Trips

California’s agricultural bounty and innovative food scene is world-renowned. With new culinary trails and Michelin-starred restaurants opening across the state, this spring Visit California partnered with two prominent culinary influencers Luis Flores of @pictureperfectluis and Michael Ligier of @michaelligier with a combined reach of 5 million followers across their channels.

First was Flores's trip to Anaheim, Los Angeles and San Diego in April. He began his five-day Southern California culinary tour in San Diego, where he had the viral souffle pancakes at Morning Glory, inventive vegan cuisine at Kindred and space-themed cocktails at Mothership. In Anaheim, Flores tasted his way through the iconic Anaheim Packing House, enjoyed dessert at the House of Chimney Cakes and ube french toast at Lola’s by MFK, a modern Filipino Kitchen. HIs trip concluded in Los Angeles, where he embarked on a dineL.A. Taco Trek, visited Eggslut at Grand Central Market and tried the popular stuffed bagels at Calic Bagels.

This trip resulted in three TikToks, three Instagram Reels, 27 Instagram Stories and three YouTube Shorts. The partnership resulted in 560,000 total impressions and 13,300 total engagements.

In May, Ligier explored Marin County, Monterey County and San Francisco — through the lens of a Bay Area local. His trip began with a curated Food & Farm Tours adventure, featuring stops at Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese, Heidrun Meadery and The Marshall Store, where he tried oysters from Tomales Bay Oyster Company. He also visited Marin French Cheese Company and sampled olive oil at McEvoy Ranch. In Monterey County, Ligier visited Coastal Kitchen at the Monterey Plaza Hotel & Spa, dined at Michelin-starred Chez Noir and tasted the popular potato pancakes at Stationæry in Carmel-by-the-Sea. He concluded his trip in Castroville, the artichoke capital of the world, where he tried artichokes provencal at Phil's Fish Market & Eatery.

His content went live in late June, so the full campaign report is still underway. To date, Ligier's Instagram Reel featuring Marin County has gone viral, exceeding 1 million views.

Accessibility Influencer Trips

Since California is The Ultimate Playground for visitors of all ages, interests and abilities, this spring Visit California invited Kelcie Miller-Anderson of @thechronic_explorer and Cory Lee of @curbfreecorylee to showcase accessible travel.

In May, Miller-Anderson embarked on a Southern California road trip through Los Angeles, Oxnard and Huntington Beach. Her trip began in Los Angeles, where she visited Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywood and the California Science Center from her home base at Beach House at Hermosa Beach. In Oxnard, she had incredible ocean access thanks to the Ed Hunt Accessible Path and Zachari Dunes on Mandalay Beach. In Huntington Beach, Miller-Anderson was able to take an adaptive surf lesson with Rocky McKinnon and enjoyed an accessible beach bonfire, courtesy of Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort & Spa.

Her trip resulted in 43 total posts, including six Instagram Reels, two Instagram Carousels, 29 Instagram Stories and six TikToks. The partnership resulted in 770,000 total impressions and 11,500 total engagements.

Lee, a longtime partner of Visit California and past Outlook Forum speaker, spent his June trip exploring Sonoma Valley, San Francisco and Tuolumne County – including a trip to Yosemite National Park. In Sonoma Valley and San Francisco, highlights included wine tasting at several local wineries, visiting the Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center in Santa Rosa, explore SFMOMA, taking an Alcatraz Tour with Alcatraz City Cruises and enjoying an Edible Excursions tour through the Ferry Building. In Tuolumne County, from his home base at the new Firefall Ranch at Yosemite, he took YARTS into Yosemite Valley and enjoyed a Yosemite Valley Floor Tour.

Lee's social deliverables are live, with a full campaign report and three additional blog posts to come.

Sustainability Influencer Trips

While Visit California encourages all media to follow the California Responsible Travel Code and RESPECT the destinations they are visiting, this spring two influencers were invited to demonstrate the importance of sustainable travel and Visit California’s partnership with Kind Traveler and their Every Stay Gives Back program.

In June, Ashley Diedenhofen of @sciencebyashley visited Oceanside and San Luis Obispo, and Gina Danza of @wildginavisited Mendocino County and Sonoma County.

Diedenhofen a California native with an environmental education background, started her trip in Oceanside with a morning filled with whale watching aboard the new eco-friendly Oceanside Adventures charter, followed by a self beach clean walk and exploration of the surf museum and the Strand. After a good night's rest at the Marbella, her trip continued north to New Cuyama where she enjoyed a seasonal, locally-sourced meal at the Cuyama Buckhorn and visited Blue Sky Center, a place-based organization dedicated to strengthening rural communities within the Cuyama Valley. Her trip concluded in San Luis Obispo; while there, she hiked Irish Hills and Terrace Hill, enjoyed the second largest farmers market in the western United States, and toured City Farm and Kompagas, two local organizations focused on sustainable agriculture education and food waste energy.

Danza, a self described SciArt artist, began her trip farther north in Mendocino county. While staying at the Inn at Newport Ranch, she enjoyed dinner on property, which is also a working ranch, and explored the flora and fauna of the 2,200-acre preserve via utility terrain vehicle. Moving into Sonoma County, she explored the quaint towns along the coast before a gleaning experience with Farm2Pantry, which collects leftover crops on farms to reduce food insecurity. Her last stay at the Highlands found her nestled among the redwoods near the Russian River, where she kayaked next to local wildlife and picnicked under the towering trees.

The social media deliverables from these two trips will be published later this summer.

The Ultimate Playground Influencer Trips

In an effort to further showcase The Ultimate Playground, Visit California invited Becky Nesel of @geobeckly and Robert and Samantha of @chasing.sage to share their unique California play styles. Deliverables from both trips are slated to go live in July.

Given her undergraduate degree in geology and love for the outdoors, California’s Eastern Sierra was the perfect fit for Nesel. Based on her play style quiz results, Visit California planned an itinerary perfect for The Mover and The Explorer in partnership with the Bishop Chamber of Commerce, Mono County Tourism and Mammoth Lakes Tourism. Itinerary stops included hiking in the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, exploring Bishop Creek Canyon and stand up paddleboarding on Convict Lake. She also had the chance to see the Eastern Sierra’s unique outdoor spaces such as Alabama Hills, Hot Creek Geological Site and Mono Lake Tufa State Natural Reserve.

In June, the family behind @chasing.sage embarked on a two-week road trip through Del Norte County, North Lake Tahoe, South Lake Tahoe and UpState CA. Identifying with The Mover play style, the family members were perfect ambassadors for fun in the outdoors, enjoying a sunset cruise with Tahoe Sailing Charters, exploring Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, visiting Trees of Mystery in Klamath and Ocean World in Crescent City, riding the Heavenly gondola for epic mountain views, kayaking with Redwood Rides and going on a beach horseback ride with Crescent Trail Rides.

These are just a sample of the recent influencer collaborations that Visit California has hosted in partnership with destination partners across the state.

For questions about how to get involved in future influencer partnership, please reach out to Kristen Bonilla for domestic influencer opportunities or Xavier Roque for international influencer opportunities.

To learn more about influencer best practices — from reaching new audiences through collaboration posts to boosting views via whitelisting — download Visit California’s influencer strategy doc from the PR Partner Resources page.