May 8, 2025
IN THIS ISSUE…
- Local Tourism Industry Reaches $1.43 Billion in Santa Cruz County as VSCC Staff Connect with Local Lodging Industry During National Travel and Tourism Week
- Industry Update: Travel During the Time of Tariffs
- Santa Cruz County Represented at Destination West
Local Tourism Industry Reaches $1.43 Billion in Santa Cruz County as VSCC Staff Connect with Local Lodging Industry During National Travel and Tourism Week
As National Travel and Tourism Week reaches its midpoint in the United States, Visit Santa Cruz County (VSCC) announces that the local tourism industry grew by just over three percent in 2024. National Travel and Tourism Week began on Sunday, May 4th and continues through Saturday, May 10th. An annual celebration hosted by the U.S. Travel Association, National Travel and Tourism Week recognizes the economic impact of the national, statewide and local tourism industries across the country.
According to a Dean Runyan Associates report released by Visit California this week, visitor spending reached $1.436 billion in Santa Cruz County. This figures tracks with steady economic growth, and a 3.2 percent increase over 2023 figures.
Last year was the fourth consecutive year of tourism growth since the 2020 pandemic, a testament to the success of the industry’s innovative strategies designed to maintain California’s market share of visitors.
Statewide, California continues to have the largest market share of tourism in the nation, with travel spending reaching an all-time record high of $157.3 billion last year, a 2.36 percent increase. The state has surpassed its previous position to reach the world’s fourth largest economy, representing 14 percent of the United States’ GDP.
State and local tax revenue generated by tourism reached nearly $120 million in Santa Cruz County in 2024, providing communities with the resources to thrive. The report further indicated that the tourism industry supported 10,880 jobs locally.
The countywide Tourism Marketing District, now in its 15th year, has enabled Visit Santa Cruz County to advance long term planning and marketing programs in an effort to stay competitive with other coastal destinations by making inroads into inbound overseas markets, drawing overnight visitation during the shoulder season when business declines, and pursing more meetings and conferences year around.
On Tuesday, May 6th, hotels, motels, bed and breakfast inns and vacation rental businesses were greeted by Visit Santa Cruz County staff who conducted countywide outreach to TMD partners. During these community relations efforts, VSCC staff distributed visitor information and collateral material prior to the start of the summer season to make sure lodging properties were stocked with VSCC maps, the new 2025-2026 visitor magazine, and other information to ensure a seamless transition into the summer season.
Industry Update: Travel During the Time of Tariffs
With political tension in the U.S. is affecting many sectors of the economy and already impacting travel behavior and preferences, Visit Santa Cruz County (VSCC) is continuing to promote the region to domestic and international visitors. While shifting sentiment in Canada is of upmost concern as one of the state’s and Santa Cruz County’s primary international markets, plans for next fiscal year include taking a flexible approach toward efforts abroad in an ever-changing environment. Last year, 1.8 million Canadians traveled to California, spending $3.72 billion in the state.
Shared commerce, values and a love of travel have been common denominators amongst Canadians and Californians – and as Governor Newsom explained in his recently launched campaign to reassure Canadian visitors to California, we are 2,800 miles from Washington, D.C. and a world away in term of culture and mindset here in the Golden State. Just last week it was announced that California has surpassed Japan to become the world’s fourth largest economy, according to data from the International Monetary Fund and the Bureau of Economic Analysis and as National Travel and Tourism Week approaches, VSCC is working with statewide efforts to support that message, staying true to our mission of promoting Santa Cruz County as a visitor destination. VSCC may however, see a need to recalibrate our strategy over the coming months to ensure we are allocating resources for maximum impact.
VSCC shared with TMD partners an opportunity to join a Canada-exclusive value program with Expedia, offering savings of up to 25 percent on hotels, activities and attractions. These offers will coincide with an ad campaign that will run across Expedia.ca from May through June, connecting prospective travelers to Visit California’s custom landing page within Expedia.ca where properties will be featured.
Beyond the state, VSCC is planning to reinforce its presence in international markets where the destination has matured: namely the UK, Canada, Mexico and parts of Europe. While participating in Visit California’s Pan-Euro Mission recently, Director of Travel Trade and Sales Flavia Oliveira and Director of Communications Christina Glynn heard from journalists and tour operators that overall, markets abroad view California as a separate entity from the U.S. as a whole. A unique culture and inspirational, only-in-California experiences set the Golden State apart from other regions in the country, enabling us to transcend to a certain extent negative sentiment toward the U.S.
Domestic marketing efforts will continue, promoting California to Californians, leveraging Santa Cruz County as The Ultimate Playground, with family travel and road trips highlighting the region’s natural beauty and outdoor experiences.
Santa Cruz County Represented at Destination West
The annual Destination West Conference provided an opportunity for Santa Cruz County’s lodging properties and activity-based businesses to be represented to meeting planners over a nearly three-day span. Held in Colorado Springs, pre-scheduled one-on-one meetings focused on what western U.S.-based destinations can offer meeting planners.
Destination West attendees experience the destinations, hotels and activities specifically targeted for successful meetings. Nearly three days of 20, pre-scheduled meetings with carefully curated buyers and meeting planners from western U.S. states also included educational seminars, presentations, and networking opportunities.
This two-and-a-half-day conference was hosted by Northstar Meetings Group‘s leading brands: Successful Meetings, Meetings & Conventions, and Incentive Magazine.
VSCC Digital Spring Campaign Updat
VSCC’s spring campaign has generated 5,400,000 impressions so far, with 1,101 room bookings reported, bringing in more than $403,000 in room revenue to local lodging properties. Top origin markets for this campaign include San Francisco, Sacramento, Seattle, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Denver, New York, Portland, Yakima and Reno. The campaign began on March 3rd and continues through June 30th.
Legislative Update: Tax Credits for Film Projects
Two bills aimed at making filming in California more competitive have made inroads in the state legislature. Production slowed during the pandemic and combined with both writers’ and actors’ strikes in 2023 caused the film industry in California to seek support from elected officials. AB1130 and SB630 are intended to make California’s film and TV production incentive more competitive with other states and countries by increasing the tax credit up to 35% of qualified expenditures. The legislation also would expand the types of productions that would qualify, including animated films, shorts and series, along with large-scale competition shows.
Partner Kudos!
Congratulations to Jess Brown, Executive Director of the Santa Cruz County Farm Bureau and VSCC Board Member, who was awarded Man of the Year by the Pajaro Valley Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture! He will be honored at an awards dinner on July 26th at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds. And local hotelier and former VSCC board member Kamalesh (KP) Patel, has been appointed Chairman of AAHOA at Asian American Hotel Owners Association!
Wings for All at SJC
San Jose-Mineta International Airport recently co-hosted a flight “rehearsal” for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Empowering All Travelers: Wings for All® at SJC was a collaboration with Alaska Airlines, The Arc, Pacific Autism Center for Education (PACE), SJC Happy Tails and TSA Cares, to educating employees on how to support guests with IDD.
Did you know?
If you missed the REAL ID deadline yesterday, you will have to undergo extra screening at the airport when flying domestically. Alternatively, you can still get through airport security by showing a valid U.S. passport, a U.S. passport card, or DHS trusted traveler cards (Global Entry, NEXUS, SENTRI, FAST).