Visit California Blends ‘Cautious Outlook’ with ‘Decisive Action’

As California Tourism Month gets underway, Visit California has released a revised visitation and spending forecast for 2025, along with its 2024 Economic Impact of Travel Report.

The 2024 report makes it abundantly clear that travel is “one of California’s most reliable engines for job creation, revenue generation and regional vitality,” Visit California’s President and CEO, Caroline Beteta advised in a message to industry partners.

In 2024, visitor spending reached $157.3 billion — a 3% increase over the prior year. That growth was widespread, with spending increasing in 50 of California’s 58 counties.

Beteta said that the industry added 24,000 new jobs last year, with total tourism employment reaching 1.17 million. State and local governments benefitted directly, with visitor-generated tax revenues climbing $300 million over the previous year to $12.6 billion.

“At the same time,” Beteta writes, “the revised forecast signals a more cautious outlook. While growth continued in 2024, the latest projections from Tourism Economics anticipate overall visitation in the state will decline 1% in 2025, to 268 million visits.”

Visit California’s President and CEO continues: “This revision reflects a complex set of challenges, particularly in international markets, where changing global sentiment, a stronger U.S. dollar and limited airlift are starting to exert pressure. We are not alone in grappling with this difficult operating environment — destinations across the United States face similar challenges. These are clear indicators that we must remain vigilant, nimble and aligned in our response.”

In response to these challenges, Visit California “is taking decisive action,” with the launch of its “California Loves Canada” today (May 6), and Beteta telling partners that the goal is to reignite “travel from one of our most important international markets. The campaign rollout includes a new video from Visit California highlighting how important Canadians are to California and the debut of a partnership with Expedia that provides discounts of up to 25% on over 950 California hotels, activities and attractions through a landing page made for Canadians.”

Beteta writes that: “While international headwinds are concerning, it’s important to remember that domestic travel accounts for more than 80% of visitor spending in California — and Visit California invests 79% of its marketing budget in reaching U.S. consumers. Last year, Visit California’s domestic paid marketing drove an additional $27-billion of visitor spending in the state.”