Has tourism in Sacramento County recovered from COVID-19? See how much visitors spent
From farm-to-fork dining in Sacramento to skiing in the Sierra Nevada, Northern California has plenty to offer travelers.
Has tourism in the Sacramento area recovered since the coronavirus pandemic?
Out of 58 California counties, 34 have fully recovered in terms of travel spending, according to state tourism organization Visit California.
However, Sacramento and other Northern California counties still lag behind, the nonprofit said.
In 2023, the Golden State generated $150.4 billion in travel spending, according to “The Economic Impact of Travel in California,” a new report prepared by Dean Runyan Associates and released by Visit California.
That’s a 5.6% increase from the $142.5 billion spent in 2022.
“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,” Caroline Beteta, president and CEO of Visit California, said in a news release.
Top travel destinations in California in 2023 were the Los Angeles area, the San Francisco Bay Area, San Diego County, Orange County and the Central Coast, according to the report.
Together, those five regions contributed 75.1% of “direct travel spending in the state,” the release said.
This was the economic impact tourism had on Sacramento and other Northern California counties in 2023.
How much did tourists spend in Sacramento County?
According to Visit California, tourists spent about $4.3 billion in Sacramento County in 2023.
Travel spending in Sacramento County was up 4.5% in 2023 compared to the previous year, according to Visit California. However, spending by tourists was down 1% from 2019.
That resulted in $323 million in state and local tax revenue, an increase of 4% from 2023, according to visit California. However, tax revenue dropped 3% compared to 2019.
The number of people employed by the travel industry in Sacramento County rose by 9.6% since 2022.
Tourism created a total of 34,810 jobs in the county, according to the report.
What about other Northern California counties?
In El Dorado County, which is divided into California’s Gold Country and High Sierra regions, tourists spent a total of about a $1.1 billion in 2023. That was up 3% from the previous year.
The county added a total of 14,400 tourism-related jobs.
Placer County, which is also split between those two regions, saw $1.4 billion in visitor spending in 2023, an increase of 1% from 2022. This created 16,960 jobs in the county.
In the Central Valley region, visitors spent a total of $488 million in Yolo County in 2023, a 2.7%increase from 2022. This created a total of 5,290 jobs in the county.
Has tourism in Northern California recovered from COVID-19?
Tourism in Yolo County has fully recovered since the pandemic, Visit California said, although it wasn’t clear Tuesday how the organization calculated that.
In contrast, Sacramento, El Dorado and Placer are almost fully recovered, falling in a 95% to 99% recovery index, according to Visit California.
How did report calculate economic impact of travel?
Visit California said it commissioned the new report to assess the economic impact of travel for the state of California.
“Spending associated with travel in California generates earnings, employment and taxes throughout the state,” the report said.
To calculate that economic impact, Dean Runyan Associates looked at factors including travel spending by visitors who stayed at hotels, motels and short-term vacation rentals.
It also looked at how much tourists spent on “food services, retail, and arts, entertainment and recreation,” the report said.
What do you want to know about life in Sacramento? Ask our service journalism team your top-of-mind questions in the module below or email servicejournalists@sacbee.com.
