On Sunday, California Governor Gavin Newsom posted a video of himself standing on top of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge to highlight a new tourism report.
“So I’m here on the Golden Gate Bridge, a testament to the greatness of America, a testament to the greatness of California, the beauty of California, the greatness of San Francisco Bay,” Newsom said. “What a perfect place to announce record-breaking tourist numbers.”
Newsom was celebrating new numbers from Visit California’s “Economic Impact of California Travel 2014-2023” report. The report shows that California travel spending in 2023 reached a record high of $150.4 billion, an increase of .6% from 2022. .
The report also notes that travel spending has finally surpassed pre-pandemic levels, with spending levels in 2023 exceeding spending levels in 2019 by 3.8%.
A chart showing the history of travel spending in California. Illustration from Visit California report: “Economic impact of his California trip from 2014 to 2023.”
But San Francisco travel groups acknowledge that much of those statewide gains have come from a surge in tourism spending in Southern California.
The report shows that while travel spending is increasing in both the Bay Area and San Francisco County, neither has yet exceeded 2019 travel spending levels.
An illustration showing the history of travel spending in the San Francisco Bay Area. Illustration from Visit California report: “Economic impact of his California trip from 2014 to 2023.”
“While it’s true that California is recovering and has had a great, great year, Northern California, and San Francisco in particular, has yet to build on its tourist economy,” said Scott Beck, president and CEO of Sun. We need to rebuild.” Francisco trip.
Alyssa Goard’s full report is in the video player above.
