Tourism Industry Update

September 17, 2026

IN THIS ISSUE…

• Visit Santa Cruz County Earns DEI Award from the California Travel Association
• Santa Cruz County Taps into Australian Market
• Visit Santa Cruz County Examines Preliminary Summertime Occupancy

Visit Santa Cruz County Earns DEI Award from the California Travel Association

Recognizing the efforts toward autism awareness, the California Travel Association (CalTravel) celebrated Visit Santa Cruz County (VSCC) and other DMOs, organizations, and leaders during the annual CalTravel Summit, held August 31–September 2, 2026, at the Meritage Resort & Spa in Napa. The CalTravel Awards recognize extraordinary achievements by top leaders in the travel and tourism industry in several categories.

VSCC was named CalTravel’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility Champion for 2026. This award recognizes a member, individual, or organization that, by advocating, educating, developing programs, and/or raising awareness of DEI&A issues, has strengthened and effected meaningful change to improve diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in the travel and tourism industry.

VSCC was honored for its Certified Autism Center designation and for having all employees certified as Autism Travel Professionals, trained to recognize and assist those on the spectrum.

In February 2026, VSCC opened the county’s first visitor center specifically designed to comfort and celebrate neurodivergent visitors and residents, including a quiet room for relief from overstimulation, complete with fidget toys; an interactive and informational “State Parks of Santa Cruz County” blocks feature; a colorful map that spans the back wall of the center; and a sensory experience room with a 180-degree digital projection system, which allows those on the spectrum or with mobility challenges to experience the county’s natural beauty in safety and comfort.

Since the visitor center’s opening, the quiet room has been consistently used, and the sensory experience room has been praised by visitors, residents, colleagues, and stakeholders.

The other 2026 CalTravel Award recipients are:

F. Norman Clark Tourism Champion of the Year: Visit Sacramento
This award recognizes excellence in California tourism leadership by a member individual, organization, or entity for activities in a particular year or to acknowledge a body of work in tourism. The award recognizes activities that have contributed to building the image of California and to increasing visitor arrivals to the state.

Brad Burlingame Award: Rhonda Salisbury, CEO, Visit Yosemite | Madera County
This award recognizes a member individual or organization that has elevated travel and tourism advocacy in California by setting an example of commitment, generosity, and effectiveness.

Great Workplace Award: Civitas
This award recognizes a member organization that provides a great environment for employees to thrive and grow through mentoring, innovative recruitment or training programs, high quality-of-life benefits, or other ways to make their workplace a great place to work.

Rising Star Award: Katelyn Riccardi, Director of Marketing & Communications, Discover Santa Clara
This award recognizes one individual member, 39 years old or under, who has contributed, through their individual efforts, to the promotion of travel, tourism, and hospitality in California. This exceptional individual has demonstrated the skills, talents, attitudes, and initiative that are the hallmarks of a rising star.

Sustainability & Stewardship Award: Dr. Paige Viren, Executive Director, Sustainable Hospitality & Tourism Management Program, California State University Monterey Bay
This award recognizes a member individual or organization that has successfully implemented sustainability and stewardship practices that enhance environmental health, manage visitor impacts, and improve the well-being of residents in their communities.

The full list of 2026 CalTravel Award winners can be found here.

Santa Cruz County Taps into Australian Market

Expanding its reach in the international marketplace, Visit Santa Cruz County embarked on a first-time trade and media mission Down Under, joining a Visit California delegation of 22 DMOs, attractions and hotels beginning September 9. Although it is the smallest of the world’s seven continents, Australia holds significant promise for Santa Cruz County and is considered an emerging market for the destination.

Christina Glynn, Director of Communications, and Flavia Oliveira, Director of Sales and Travel Trade, participated in the weeklong mission, which included ten meeting-based opportunities for trade representatives and public relations professionals spanning two cities, beginning in Sydney and ending in Melbourne. Through market briefings, delegates learned about the opportunities, challenges and pathways to growth across trade and media before programming began. Each reception, one-on-one appointment, panel discussion and workshop focused on California’s diverse destinations, accommodations, attractions and bookable travel experiences. These experiences were designed to foster relationships between California partners and key Australian trade and media stakeholders to support long-term visitation and spending growth.

Throughout the mission, Christina and Flavia met with 80 media representatives and more than 70 travel trade agents, sharing destination information such as new hotel development and renovations, local history, activities available to visitors, the arts and culture scene, and the role agriculture plays in the county’s food and drink offerings.

Australians don’t need to be convinced to visit California; they need compelling reasons to visit California now. Australia continues to deliver strong visitor spending despite its relatively small population. Australian travelers stay longer, explore more regions across the state and generate high visitor expenditures. Visitor spending is forecast to reach $1.3 billion in 2026, up 5.3 percent, accounting for approximately 5 percent of California’s international visitor spending. Visitation is expected to increase to 436,000 in 2027, up 4.6 percent, while visitor spending is projected to grow 6.5 percent to $1.4 billion.

Visit Santa Cruz County Examines Preliminary Summertime Occupancy

With June and July occupancy figures available, Visit Santa Cruz County has taken a closer look at which factors have influenced visitors so far. With a 26 percent increase in airfares year over year and rising gas prices, Santa Cruz County’s position as a drive market for the Central Valley, Sacramento, and the San Francisco Bay Area worked in its favor, revealing that travelers are staying closer to home this season.

Demand in June for Santa Cruz County hotels increased 4.4 percent year-over-year (YOY), easily absorbing the 2.4 percent YOY increase in supply, resulting in a 2 percent YOY gain in occupancy to 76.5 percent. Short-term rental demand was up 4 percent YOY. With a 2.2 percent YOY increase in supply, June occupancy rose 1.8 percent YOY to 69.5 percent for that sector of the industry.

Average Daily Rate (ADR) was higher for both types of lodging, with a 13.3 percent YOY increase to $246 for hotels and a 2.8 percent YOY increase to $475 for short-term rentals. Both generated more revenue than last June, with an 18.3 percent YOY increase for hotels and a 6.9 percent YOY increase for short-term rentals.

Santa Cruz County hotels posted a solid July, with occupancy up 1.0 percent YOY to 78.4 percent and ADR up 12.6 percent to $254. Santa Cruz’s ADR trailed higher-end markets like Monterey ($328) and Santa Barbara ($313), but its occupancy was competitive with top performers like San Luis Obispo (80.3 percent) and Monterey (83.5 percent).

Short-term rentals also had a strong July, with Santa Cruz County occupancy at 78.7 percent (up 1.5 percent YOY) and ADR at $491 (up 8.8 percent).

June visitors stayed an average of 1.5 days and July visitors stayed an average of 1.9 days, with the majority of domestic visitors coming from California — pointing to a market driven heavily by repeat, short-stay trips from Santa Cruz County’s primary drive market.

Although August figures have yet to be considered, these preliminary summertime figures show that consumers are reconsidering longer-distance travel. Rather than eliminating travel altogether, they may have substituted longer domestic or international trips with shorter, more accessible getaways.