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May 5, 2024

At the Top of the Golden Gate Bridge, Governor Newsom Announces Tourism Spending Hit an All-Time High in California

California remains the #1 state for tourism

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW : New data released today shows that California continues to have the largest market share of tourism in the nation, with travel spending in the state reaching an all-time record high of $150.4 billion last year.

SAN FRANCISCO – Governor Gavin Newsom and Visit California CEO Caroline Beteta today announced that travel spending in the state reached an all-time high of $150.4 billion last year, surpassing the record $144.9 billion spent in 2019. This comes after the state retained its title as the world’s 5th largest economy and had a population increase , both of which are directly tied to California’s nation-leading tourism and entertainment industries.

VIDEO: Gov. Newsom makes announcement at the top of the Golden Gate Bridge

From our world-renowned coastline, to the world’s tallest trees, to our iconic cities and theme parks, California is the nation’s coming attraction. Visitors from all over the world are coming here to experience the wonder of the Golden State, boosting our economy and creating good-paying jobs for years to come.

Governor Gavin Newsom

BY THE NUMBERS : The Economic Impact of Travel in California, prepared by Dean Runyan Associates and released by Visit California, detailed spending that is 3.8% higher than 2019 and 5.6% higher than 2022. Spending exceeded 2019 levels in a majority of counties.

WHAT VISIT CALIFORNIA CEO BETETA SAID : “California tourism is back where it belongs – setting records and providing for the workers, business owners and all Californians who depend on the travel industry as a cornerstone of our state’s economy. The industry has once again proved its ability to recover from any challenge, whether it be economic or environmental. California continues to be the largest, most diverse and most resilient tourism economy in the United States.”

WHAT THIS MEANS : California has the largest market share of tourism in the nation. The new travel-spending record generated $12.7 billion in state and local tax revenue by visitors in 2023, marking a 3% increase over 2019. Tourism created 64,900 new jobs in 2023, bringing total industry employment to 1,155,000.

California remains the 5th largest economy in the world for the seventh consecutive year, with a nominal GDP of nearly $3.9 trillion in 2023 and a growth rate of 6.1% since the year prior, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. California’s per capita GDP is the second largest among large economies.

In addition to visiting the state, more people are moving to California. Earlier this week, Governor Newsom announced the state’s population is increasing for the first time since the pandemic.

The Golden State, which has the most equitable tax system in the entire country , is #1 in the nation for new business starts , #1 for access to venture capital funding , and the #1 state for tourism spending , manufacturing , high-tech , and agriculture .

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Times of San Diego

Local News and Opinion for San Diego

California Tourism Rebound: Industry Expected to Exceed Pre-Pandemic Highs in 2023

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California’s tourism economy grew by 32% in 2022 and is poised to set new records this year for visitor spending, employment and tax generation, according to an industry economic impact report.

The data, from Visit California , a Sacramento-based advocacy group for the state’s tourism industry, includes breakouts from local regions. San Diego County tourism, for instance, generated $13.3 billion in visitor spending – around 10% of the state’s total – and 96,000 jobs.

Key statewide takeaways include:

• Travel spending increased to $134.4 billion across California last year, a nearly 32% increase over 2021 that brought spending within 7% of pre-pandemic levels.
• California’s travel sector added 157,000 jobs in 2022. The 1.1 million positions is within 6% of the 2019 levels, before the devastating losses that hit the industry during the pandemic.
• Projections from Tourism Economics show California this year will surpass the record $144.9 billion in visitor spending achieved in 2019, a year sooner than expected.
• State and local taxes paid by visitors reached $11.9 billion, within 10% of pre-pandemic levels.

Most of the spending is concentrated on hotel and other accommodations, followed by food services and local transportation and retail sales.

Tourism jobs are also concentrated in those areas, with more than 600,000 in accommodations and food services alone.

Travel spending plummeted in 2020, as the pandemic lockdown took hold. Tourism in California had generated nearly $145 billion the year before; that figure that was cut in half.

New community sentiment research  was also released by Visit California, indicating that state residents value the tourism economy. More than 70% say tourism generates local business opportunities and provides jobs for residents.

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Tourism in California

Recovering from COVID-19: Are We There Yet?

Historically, California’s multibillion-dollar travel industry has been a vital and growing part of California’s economy. Tourism-related spending supports a wide swath of California businesses, including lodging establishments, attractions, restaurants, retail stores, gas stations, and a host of other businesses that sell their products and services to travelers. In addition, the tourism industry employs more than a million Californians, including thousands in entry-level jobs that provide many Californians with their first step on the economic ladder.

Recovering from COVID-19 (or ‘Are We There Yet?’)

The travel and tourism industry has been a flagship of California’s economy for decades, sharing our state’s natural beauty and cultural leadership with the world. But when COVID-19 effectively shut down local, domestic and international travel, California’s tourism and travel industry was hit harder than any other industry.

For comparison — in 2019, California generated just shy of $145 billion in travel-related spending. In 2020, with international and domestic travel severely restricted and public health restrictions in effect, tourism spending plunged to $65 billion — a decline of approximately $80 billion from its prior level of $144 billion , or more than 50% of all tourism-related spending . (Data comparisons between 2019 and 2020 based on statistics from California Travel and Tourism Commission (Visit California) in “Economic Impact of Travel in California 2011–2021” (April 29, 2022), available at https://industry.visitcalifornia.com/research/economic-impact .)

The pandemic’s effects on the tourism industry echo throughout the economy, with local governments and workers feeling the pain as well. State and local government revenue from tourism decreased by around 50%, from $12.2 billion in 2019 to approximately $6 billion in 2020. Certain tourism-dependent cities were hit even harder, including those with major theme parks, convention centers, performance venues, and tourist destinations. California workers and their families felt the loss of tourism spending as well, with more than 315,000 jobs lost in 2020.

Now, as we look toward 2023 and the status of California’s tourism industry, the proverbial question of impatient children on long trips hangs in the air: “Are we there yet?” With Governor Gavin Newsom preparing to end California’s state of COVID-19 emergency in early 2023, and with life largely back to normal, has California’s tourism sector been able to rebuild itself?

Sadly, the answer (just as so many weary parents know) is: “Not quite yet.” On the whole, tourism has continued to rebound in 2022 vis-à-vis 2020 and 2021, as measured in both total visitor trips and in spending — with spending reaching an estimated $137.8 billion and visits reaching 259.8 million — but those numbers remain below 2019’s baseline. (Data comparisons between 2022 and prior years (as well as 2023 and 2024 estimates) based on estimated statistics from Visit California in “California Travel-Related Spend & Visitation Forecast (October Update)”(October 18, 2022), available at https://industry.visitcalifornia.com/ . Because final 2022 data will not be available until mid-2023, estimates were used at the time of publication.)

Visit California also estimates travel-related spending will return to pre-coronavirus levels in 2023, but total visits will not return to pre-pandemic levels until 2024.

Business/International Travel Lag Behind Leisure

Notably, significant differences exist between leisure and business travel as part of this recovery. Whereas personal travel appears to be returning more quickly, business travel remains significantly slower. Business travel trips in 2022 are estimated at roughly 80% of 2019’s travel numbers, whereas leisure travel is estimated to have risen to 93% of 2019.

Although we cannot say for certain the cause of the slower recovery in business travel, multiple potential causes deserve consideration.

• First, for domestic professional travel, the shift toward “work-from-home” and teleconferencing may be removing the need for some of the pre-pandemic business travel.

• In addition, with many sectors accommodating higher inflation costs, rebuilding their markets, and anticipating an economic recession, many businesses may be in a “belt tightening” posture, and travel expenses may be one victim of that mindset.

• Finally, international travel lags significantly behind domestic travel in recovering, with 2022 estimates for both visits and total spending 37% and 42% below pre-pandemic levels, respectively.

Of course, these spending levels also reflect an incomplete recovery in both employment and in tax revenue generated for California’s state and local governments, with $9.8 billion in tax revenue and 927,100 travel-generated jobs, down from $12.3 billion in revenue and 1.1 billion travel-related jobs in 2019. (Comparison based on 2021 data and 2019 data in Visit California’s “Economic Impact Report for Revised CA Legislative Districts” (December 5, 2022). Again, due to complete data for 2022 being unavailable until mid-2023, estimates based on partial data available at publication were used for 2022. Available at: https://industry.visitcalifornia.com/research/report/economic-impact-by-updated-leg-districts-2021 .)

Barriers to Recovery in 2023: Regulations, Recession, Relative Cost

As the tourism industry works toward recovery, various clouds are on the horizon in 2023. At a macro level, inflation and a potential recession could easily drive down consumer and business spending, particularly in the already-lagging areas of business and international travel.

Inside our own state, cost increases in the form of new regulations and legislation are always a concern, as California costs for both businesses and guests vis-à-vis other states is a constant competitive disadvantage in attracting out-of-state visitors.

CalChamber Position

The California Chamber of Commerce supports policies that will help California return safely to its status as a premier tourist destination for both domestic and international travelers, while also ensuring visitors and employees are protected from COVID-19. This includes supporting policies that promote tourism, including Visit California and tourism improvement districts, as well as new incentives to bring significant events or attractions to California. As an example of these policies, the 2021–2022 budget included $95 million in funds for Visit California to promote tourism as California re-opened (a push championed by Senator Mike McGuire (D-Healdsburg) and Assemblymember Sharon Quirk-Silva (D-Fullerton) via SB 285, which was subsumed into the budget) and the 2022–2023 budget included another $15 million for this purpose.

Conversely, the Legislature should reject measures that increase costs or create new burdens on the tourism industry, which still is struggling to recover from the deepest pandemic-caused losses of any California industry.

January 2023

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Report: California tourism numbers top pre-pandemic levels, Bay Area numbers lag a bit behind

San francisco tourism groups say more needs to be done to bring tourism levels up to where they were before covid, by alyssa goard • published may 6, 2024 • updated on may 6, 2024 at 1:38 am.

On Sunday, California Governor Gavin Newsom posted a video of himself standing atop San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge to highlight a new tourism report.

"So, I'm up here on the Golden Gate Bridge, a testament to America's greatness, a testament to California's greatness, the beauty, the magnificence of the San Francisco Bay," Newsom said. "What a perfect place to announce our record-breaking tourism numbers."

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Newsom was celebrating the new numbers from Visit California's "Economic Impact of Travel in California 2014-2023" report, which indicated that in 2023, travel spending in California reached an all-time high of $150.4 billion, a 5.6% increase from 2022.

The report also notes that California travel spending numbers have finally risen above pre-pandemic levels, with the 2023 spending level 3.8% than the 2019 spending level.

But San Franciso travel organizations acknowledge: many of these statewide gains have been driven by a surge of tourism spending in Southern California.

The report indicates that while travel spending is rising in both the Bay Area and in San Francisco County, neither has surpassed 2019 travel spending levels yet.

"While it is true that California is recovering and has had a wonderful, stellar year, that in Northern California, specifically in San Francisco, we still have some rebuilding to do for our visitor economy," said Scott Beck, president and CEO of San Francisco Travel.

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Beck noted that travel to San Francisco from Asia has not yet returned to the levels seen prior to the pandemic.

"We have a really, really high dependence on international travel from Asia in San Francisco, it’s a very big part and an important part of our visitor mix and that is still lagging," Beck said.

Beck attributed this lag in travel to Asia to something called "lift,' meaning the volume of air travel service into the region. In particular, Beck noted that flights between the U.S. and China were halted during the pandemic. Flights between the two countries have been increasing again , but the travel numbers are not as high as they were before the pandemic.

Beck said there will be another easing of flight restrictions in June and that he expects flights between China and San Francisco to increase in the coming years.

Scott Gentner, CEO of Pier 39, explained that the breakdown of tourists visiting the city shifted during the pandemic and in the years following. Prior to COVID, Gentner said that Pier 39 got about a third of its visitors from California, a third from around the U.S., and a third from outside the country. During the start of the pandemic, international travel went away, Gentner explained.

As COVID restrictions eased in 2022 and 2023, Gentner said Pier 39 saw a resurgence of domestic visitors which has since plateaued. Last year, Gentner said the Pier began seeing more visitors from Europe and this year more visitors from Asia have been traveling in.

"There are definitely tourists here, there are definitely tourists spending," Gentner said, adding the caveat that where the tourists are spending their dollars around the city can vary.

At Pier 39, which is seeing a boost in interest recently thanks to a surge in sea lion population, sales have been doing well, with 2023 sales on par with 2019 sales, according to Gentner.

"We have a record number of sea lions, it's something we didn’t know was coming and it's certainly bringing a more local crowd to Pier 39 and rediscovering some of the great things we have to offer," Gentner said.

At nearby Fisherman's Wharf, the executive director of the Fisherman's Wharf Community Benefit District, Randall Scott, said that the pedestrian count there is down 18-20 percent from pre-pandemic levels.

"We’re on the way to making it back to where we were," Scott said, noting that hotel rates and occupancy rates are still down compared to 2019 in the area.

"We’re doing OK, compared to the rest of the city -- I would argue that our numbers are very good -- but compared to the rest of California, we’re still significantly down from where they were in 2019," Scott continued.

To help close the gap, Scott would like to see investment at the state and federal levels to help showcase the area and promote the message that San Francisco is a safe and exciting place to travel to.

Scott had one message in particular for California's governor:

"Governor Newsom: thank you, thank you, thank you for bringing tourism back to California. Southern California posted those numbers, please bring back and help us bring back the tourist industry to San Francisco," he said.

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California Tourism Month amplifies travel spending comeback

By Dan Smith 06/03/2024

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Buoyed by news that the $150.4 billion travel spending in 2023 exceeded the previous record set in 2019, travel and hospitality partners highlighted the economic comeback with state and local governments and all residents via widespread distribution to the news media.

Gov. Gavin Newsom kicked off the party early in the month, scaling the Golden Gate Bridge to announce the travel spending record and declare that California tourism had fully recovered from the pandemic downturn.

The economic impact report from Dean Runyan Associates broke down the economic impact on jobs, taxes generated, and type of travel spending by county. It was distributed to more than 200 DMOs in advance.

Visit California and DMO partners pitched the news and the broader California Tourism Month economic impact message to dozens of national, state, and local news outlets. That work extended the reach to the New York Times , major network television affiliates in Los Angeles and San Francisco and smaller community outlets, such as the North Bay Business Journal and the Union Democrat in Tuolumne County . As May ended, 133 stories detailing the economic impact comeback or other aspects of tourism month had been recorded.

A second pillar of the effort targeted key decision-makers throughout the state. DMOs encouraged local government elected officials to adopt proclamations that spotlighted California Tourism Month and the economic impact on local jobs, businesses and tax coffers.

At the Capitol, meanwhile, state assemblymembers unanimously approved ACR 186, a resolution carried by Assemblymember Mike Gipson that reaffirms California Tourism Month and asks Californians to “support tourism and local businesses by traveling within the state as an act of civic pride.”

Visit California also partnered with coffeehouses near the Capitol to distribute California Tourism Month branded coffee cups and sleeves. This ensured that hundreds of influential legislative staff, members and other policy advocates were exposed to the important message that “Tourism Powers California’s Economy.”

To commemorate both California Tourism Month and National Travel and Tourism Week, Visit California held an ice cream social on the west steps of the Capitol on May 23. Capitol staff and the public were treated to music, a giant 12-foot beach ball and 700 scoops of delicious Gunther’s Ice Cream. Hundreds of attendees enjoyed California-themed flavors like Vanil-LA-LA-Land, Yose-Minty and 9021-Oreo while being exposed to digital messaging highlighting the economic impact of tourism.

In addition, Visit California’s economic impact data broken down by legislative district was shared with advocacy partners at Cal Travel, who armed industry members with it for one-on-one meetings with legislators during Advocacy Day on May 14.

Visit California plans to follow up with a custom email to each legislator detailing the economic impact of tourism in their district.

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California Tourism Industry Reeling After Decade of Record Growth

Coronavirus pandemic ends Golden State’s decade of growth in spending,
 jobs and taxes generated

• California Tourism Industry Reeling After Decade of Record Growth Print
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Sacramento, Calif. (May 4, 2020) -- The coronavirus pandemic has devastated California’s tourism industry, erasing a record 10 years of growth in visitor spending, state and local tax revenue and jobs created, according to new economic data.

Tourism Economics projects California will lose $72.1 billion in visitor spending this year, nearly half of what was generated in 2019. The study also showed the pandemic will take 613,000 California jobs in May, more than half the workforce that had grown an average 3.2 percent a year for the last decade to employ 1.2 million Californians in 2019.

The projections come as Visit California released its 2019 economic impact report showing visitors to California generated more spending, tax revenue and jobs for a record 10th consecutive year in 2019.

The “California Travel Impacts” report , prepared for Visit California by Dean Runyan Associates, shows visitors spent $144.9 billion in 2019, a 3.2 percent increase over 2018. The number of travel and tourism jobs increased to 1.2 million last year, an additional 13,000 jobs. Travel-generated tax revenue also grew for the 10th straight year, providing $12.2 billion to state and local governments, a 3.4 percent increase over 2018.

“The data show just how vital tourism is to the California economy and why it must be restored when we control and ultimately overcome this deadly outbreak,” said Caroline Beteta, president and CEO of Visit California, the state’s tourism marketing non-profit organization. “When that time arrives, we’ll be calling on Californians to become the main drivers of recovery by traveling in the state, shopping locally and visiting local restaurants, wineries and attractions. California has led the nation in its response to the health crisis, and it will lead the economic comeback.”

Travel-related economic losses from the pandemic have been hardest on tourism workers, rural destinations in which tourism dominates the economy and hundreds of cities that use hotel taxes to fund basic municipal services.

In 2018, according to the Dean Runyan report, tourism made up more than 10 percent of the labor force in 15 California counties. For example, more than half the workforce in Mono County is attributable to tourism.

Nearly every California city – 482 to be exact – levied hotel taxes in FY17-18 that raised nearly $2.6 billion for municipal services. That’s money for police and fire and most of the general government functions cities take on. Across California, 68 cities count on TOT revenue to cover at least 20 percent expenditures.

Tourism is one of the most labor-intensive economic sectors and creates jobs faster than other sectors of the economy. During the Great Recession, overall California employment fell 8.6 percent between 2008 and 2010, while tourism jobs dipped only 5.6 percent.

Release of both economic reports coincides with the start of California Tourism Month. Established by legislative resolution in 2016, tourism month each May recognizes the major contribution travel and tourism makes to California’s economy.

“Tourism in California will rebound, because it always has -- after earthquakes, wildfires, the 9/11 terrorist attacks or economic crises,” Beteta said. “Californians are proud and resilient people. They love their state, and when the time is right and they are ready to travel, the California travel industry is here to welcome them.”

ABOUT VISIT CALIFORNIA Visit California is a nonprofit organization with a mission to develop and maintain marketing programs – in partnership with the state’s travel industry – that keep California top-of-mind as a premier travel destination. For more information about Visit California and for a free California Official State Visitor's Guide, go to www.visitcalifornia.com . For story ideas, media information, downloadable images, video and more, go to media.visitcalifornia.com .

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