San Diego Tourism Industry Research

The Facts You Should Know

The San Diego visitor industry is the third largest industry in the county, and therefore critical to the region's economy supporting businesses and jobs. The following information is for public access. Members can view additional information in the password protected area of MemberNet. Please email requests or questions regarding any of the research below to the Planning and Research Department at .

Tourism Industry

• The visitor industry employs directly and indirectly over 160,000 San Diegans.
• Visitors spend nearly $8 billion annually, which translates to an economic impact of over $18.3 billion NEW dollars generated for the regional economy.
• San Diego hosts more than 32 million visitors each year, and is a top U.S. travel destination.
• The industry generates more than $388 million annually in state and local taxes.

View 10 years of transient occupancy tax (TOT) collections for cities in San Diego County.

Visitor Profile

The San Diego Visitor Profile Study is conducted every other year to track the characteristics of the market and the traveler. Of the 32 million total visitors, about half (16 million) stay overnight in a hotel or a private home. The Visitor Profile Summary of all overnight visitors, traveling for both leisure and business, is available to the public.

It is possible to purchase further detail from the study to support your marketing efforts given that the study sample is large enough for your needs and the questions are relevant.

Industry Performance

• San Diego Travel Industry Forecast
  A five year forecast updated quarterly.
• Monthly Industry Performance Overview
  An overview of industry performance, including visitors, spending, attraction attendance, air arrivals, hotel performance and other key industry metrics.
• San Diego Visitor Industry Summary (Annual)

Planning Resources

• New Hotel Development Pipeline 
  View projects tracked to the best of our ability from concept to construction. Updated quarterly.
• San Diego International Airport Information
  View the top 150 domestic markets served, and direct and connecting service to international destinations. For specific flight schedule information, go to www.SAN.org.

• State of California Industry Research
• U.S. Travel Association Industry Research
• Department of Commerce, OTTI Research - International Visitation to the U.S.

Follow this link to find SDCVB Financials, Performance and the Annual Report.