California breaks tourism record. But has the Golden State fully come back from the pandemic?
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TOURISTS ARE COMING BACK TO CALIFORNIA. MOSTLY.
People are visiting California and spending money in record numbers, a sign that the pandemic-era slump is finally over.
According to data released by travel industry nonprofit Visit California, and collected by Dean Runyan Associates, the Golden State’s tourism economy generated $150.4 billion in travel spending for 2023, up from the previous record of $144.9 billion in 2019 — the year before the COVID-19 pandemic led Gov. Gavin Newsom to lock everything down.
The report found that spending was 3.8% higher than in 2019, and 5.6% higher than in 2022, with spending exceeding 2019 levels in 34 out of California’s 58 counties. Meanwhile, three of California’s four international gateways — San Diego, Orange and Los Angeles Counties — were among those exceeding 2019 spending levels. The fourth gateway — San Francisco — was 97.2% recovered, according to the report.
“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,” said Visit California CEO Caroline Beteta in a statement.
Visitors to California generated $12.7 billion in state and local tax revenue, up 3% from 2019. Tourism created nearly 65,000 new jobs last year, bringing the total industry employment up to 1.1 million, 98% of where things stood in 2019.
The COVID-19 pandemic lockdown put more than half a million travel and hospitality workers out of work, according to Visit California.
The report found that international visitors spent $24.3 billion in California in 2023, up 38% from 2022 but down from the $28.6 billion peak in 2018.
“Travelers from China and other parts of Asia have been slow to return after the pandemic, hindering full recovery from the international sector,” according to Visit California.
The report can be viewed here.
ASSEMBLY REPUBLICANS CALL FOR CAMPUS PROTEST OVERSIGHT HEARING
Fresh off his call for stripping violent student protesters of their financial aid, Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher, R-Yuba City, joined Assemblyman Vince Fong, R-Central Valley, in calling on Assemblyman Avelino Valencia, D-Anaheim, to order a hearing of the Assembly Budget Subcommittee on Accountability and Oversight — which Valencia chairs — to discuss recent campus unrest and hear from university administrators.
Students have been protesting the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza at universities across the country, staging largely peaceful protest tent encampments. There have been a number of clashes, though, between both protesters and police and protesters and counter-protesters. Thousands of protesters have been arrested nationwide, including hundreds in California.
The letter said that violence and antisemitic attacks at UCLA and Cal Poly Humboldt “is appalling and a shameful moment in our state’s history.”
“Students have been — and continue to be — harmed physically, mentally and emotionally. The universities are incurring substantial costs for clean-up, security and other expenses,” the Republican lawmakers wrote in their letter.
Gallagher has been critical of university administrators for refusing to act to disperse the protesters in a timely fashion.
“Taxpayers deserve to know how the protesters were able to take over parts of the college campuses, including how groups were able to occupy and deface UCLA’s historic Royce Hall,” the letter read.
The letter went on to state that “taxpayers want — and deserve — to hear from university administrators about how these incidents played out and what plans are in place to prevent this disruption in the future.”
Valencia has not publicly responded to the request by deadline.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Good morning. This is your reminder that arming our teachers will not solve America’s gun violence problem. Don’t let the @GOP get away with this.”
- Gov. Gavin Newsom, via X.
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