Welcome to California — Travel and Tourism
Come to California!
Protests in Spain and an anti-tourism march help local citizens vent, and tourists feel less than welcomed in some European destinations this summer. Venice, Italy, with just 55,000 residents and more than 20 million visitors a year, is among the cities where citizens complain that today’s model of tourism and use of Airbnb expels people from their neighborhoods and harms the environment.
Back in Huntington Beach, Calif., there are 192,000 residents and up to 15 million visitors each year — not quite as overwhelming as Anaheim (home to Disneyland) with 23 million visitors last year. Locals welcome September when crowds thin and residents get their towns back so they can drive and park in places that become too much of a hassle during the summer months. Yosemite National Park, San Francisco, San Diego and Los Angeles all grapple tourist overcrowding at some point. However anti-tourism marches are unlikely in California. Here’s why–
Californians are California’s Best Tourists!
With close to 39 million residents in 2017, domestic leisure trips by Californians within the state are expected to number 211.6 million this year.
- Californians make up more than 75% of travelers in the state
- Domestic leisure travel will lead the California visitor market in growth
- Travel spending in California was $126.3 billion in 2016
- Travel in California directly supported 1,096,000 jobs, with earnings of $45.4 billion
- Travel spending in 2016 generated $4.9 billion in local taxes and $5.3 billion in state taxes
Top Demographic Market Areas (DMAs) of Origin
- Los Angeles 41.5%
- San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose 19.0%
- Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto 14.4%
- San Diego 7.8%
- Fresno-Visalia 5.7%
- Chico-Redding 3.0%
- Bakersfield 2.7%
- Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-San Luis Obispo 1.7%
- Monterey-Salinas 1.7%
- Eureka 0.7%
- Yuma-El Centro 0.5%
