Research

Importance of travel and tourism to the California economy

• Total direct travel spending in California was $96.7 billion in 2007. Travel spending increased by 3.6 percent over the preceding year. ⁽²⁾
• During 2007, travel spending in California directly supported 924,100 jobs with earnings of $30.0 billion. Travel spending generated the greatest number of jobs in arts, entertainment and recreation (226,500 jobs), and accommodation and food services (534,000). ⁽²⁾
• Over 17 percent of all travel spending in the state in 2007 was attributable to international travel. Overseas arrivals at Los Angeles and San Francisco increased by 7.5 percent (3.6 million arrivals) from 2006 to 2007. ⁽²⁾
• Travel spending in 2007 generated $2.2 billion in local taxes and $3.6 billion in state taxes. ⁽²⁾

• 366 million domestic and international visitors traveled to and through California in 2006. ^(2,3,5)
• A record 352.3 million domestic visitors traveled to and through California in 2006, up 5.1 percent from 2005.⁽²⁾Californians themselves are the mainstay of the state's travel and tourism industry, comprising 84.9 percent of domestic travel, or 299 million person-trips. Out-of-state visitors account for 53.3 million person-trips. California’s top domestic markets are Arizona, Nevada, Texas, Oregon, Washington, and Illinois.
• Total leisure visitor volume increased 5 percent, thanks largely to a 7.7 percent growth in-state leisure travel by California residents, offsetting a 9.6 percent decline in non-resident leisure travel.⁽²⁾
• 31.9 million visitors traveled to and through California on U.S. carriers in 2007. Air travel on domestic flights increased by 3.5 percent over 2006.  ⁽¹⁾
• California domestic market share climbed from 11.1 percent to 11.5 percent in 2006, the biggest gain in recent years, and representing a significant recovery from post 9-11 declines.^{(2, 4)} Leisure market share increased from 10.9 percent to 11.3 percent.⁽²⁾
• Of California’s approximately 14 million international visitors, about 5.2 million were from overseas in 2007, 21.7 percent of all overseas visitors to the U.S., and  up 12.4 percent from 2006. California's top ten overseas visitor market countries are: United Kingdom (765,000), Japan (675,000), Australia (333,000), South Korea (331,000), Germany (322,000), France (237,000), China PRC ( 227,000 not incl. Hong Kong ), Taiwan (201,000), India (176,000) and Italy (124,000). ⁽³⁾
• Most of California’s 8.1 million visitors from Mexico arrive and travel overland. Approximately 428,000 Mexican travelers arrived via air in 2007, spending an average of $909 per person per trip, and generating a total of $389 million in expenditures. ^(3,5)
• 1,037,000 Canadians travel to and through California annually. Most are from the western provinces. ⁽⁴⁾