Increasing Numbers of Out-of-State and Foreign Travelers Contribute to County Coffers and Stable Employment

Visit California announced that the latest travel and tourism industry report shows more than 200 million people visited California last year, and total direct travel spending increased to $106.4 billion in vacation or business travel dollars that supported nearly a million jobs and generated $11.4 billion in local, state and federal taxes. The number of visitors to the state has continued to increase over the last decade, and is up three percent from 2011 to 2012.

The Golden State experience is an attraction for travelers from around the world, with more than 15 million international travelers visiting California last year, injecting about $20 billion into the state's economy. About 62 million residents from other states also visited, spending more than $38 billion. And, Californians traveling within the state accounted for another $42 billion in tourism spending.

“The California Dream is alive and luring people from around the world and from across our country to come explore our great state,” said Caroline Beteta, president and CEO of Visit California, a nonprofit organization dedicated promoting California as a premier travel destination. “This report confirms what we already knew, that travel and tourism is an economic engine that creates jobs and supports public services in every corner of our state.”

The report by Dean Runyan Associates details the economic impacts of travel to and through California from 1992 to 2012 and includes both statewide and county-by-county information. The report shows rural counties gain as much from tourism as urban areas, with the benefits being seen from Alameda to Yuba counties.

The study shows that in 2011, in the less populated counties of Mariposa and Mono, visitor-generated local sales tax receipts accounted for more than 90 percent of local taxes collected for each county – 92.4 percent and 94.7 percent respectively. Larger counties benefit from tourism as well. For instance, tourist spending generated $518 million in local tax receipts in Los Angeles (19 percent of the total), more than $250 million in San Diego (31 percent of total), and more than $387 million in San Francisco (63 percent of total).

Without the $11.4 billion in tax revenues generated by direct travel spending in California, each household in the state would have to pay an additional $890 in taxes each year.

“Tourism is a genuine commodity in California, but competition for tourism dollars is intense,” Beteta said. “That's why more than 5,400 private California travel and tourism-related businesses of all kinds and sizes now assess themselves to raise $50 million a year to fund an innovative and integrated campaign that promotes California to travelers around the world.”

To access the Dean Runyan Associates report “California Travel Impacts by County, 1992-2012, 2012 Preliminary State & Regional Estimates,” and see a breakdown of all the numbers by county and region, click here.