
Tourism and hospitality are an integral part of the economy for the United States, California, and Sonoma County.Â
Download the 2019Â Sonoma County Quick Facts
Information from Visit California / Dean Runyan and Associates "California Travel Impacts by County"Â for 2019:
- Destination spending by travelers
- United States: Â Â Â Â Â Â Â $1.1 trillion
- California: Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â $144.9Â billion
- Sonoma County: Â $2.23Â billion
- Government revenue in the form of taxes from tourism
(Used for parks, economic development, arts and culture, education, roads, public safety, education, affordable housing, workforce development, and more.)- United States: Â Â Â Â Â Â Â $180 billion
- California: Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â $12.2Â billion
- Sonoma County: Â $203.5Â millionÂ
- Tourism/Hospitality directly supports jobs
- United States:Â Â Â Â Â 9Â million
- California: Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 1.2 million
- Sonoma County: Â 22,270Â (1 in 10 jobs)
The Sonoma County Economic Development Board produces an excellent report on Transient Occupancy Tax, including where each government entity invests that money: Sonoma County TOT Reports.
TOT Assessment by City
- Cloverdale – 10 percent
- Healdsburg – 12 percent
- Petaluma – 10 percent
- Rohnert Park – 12 percent
- Santa Rosa – 9 percent
- Sebastopol – 10 percent
- Sonoma – 12 percent
- Windsor – 12 percent
- Unincorporated County – 12 percent
Visitor Statistics
- Millions of visitors come to Sonoma County annually. Over the next few years, millennial tourists, who prioritize experiential travel, will grow in importance.
- Roughly 90 percent of Sonoma County's visitors are domestic travelers.
- The 10 percent of international visitors to Sonoma County mainly hail from Canada, Western Europe, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and Korea (estimated based on VisaVue and other sources)
Travel Impacts for Sonoma County (2019):
In 2019, total direct travel spending contributed $2.237 billion to the Sonoma County economy, up 1.4% year-over-year.  Information from Visit California / Dean Runyan and Associates "California Travel Impacts by County": Â
- Destination Spending = $2.054 billion
- Other travel = $183 million (Other Travel includes ground transportation and air travel impact and other travel arrangement services.)Â
Visitor Spending by Type of Travel Accommodation totaled $2.054Â billion, up 2% year-over-year. Spending by property type ($millions)
- Hotel, Motel               $112.8 (+1% YOY)
- Private Home             $190.1 (+6 % YOY)
- Campground               $66.3 (+8% YOY)
- Vacation Home          $116.8 (+2% YOY)Â
Visitor Spending by Commodity Purchased ($Millions)
- Accommodations:Â $504.7Â (-1% YOY)
- Food Service:Â $580.2Â (+3% YOY)
- Local Transportation:Â $183.7Â (+3% YOY)Â (including gas)
- Arts, Entertain, Rec.:Â $354.4Â (+.04% YOY)Â (including wineries, parks)
- Retail Sales:Â $348.2 (+3% YOY)
- Visitor Air Transport: $14.1Â (+46% YOY)
- Day trips visitor spending: $568.4Â million (+1.8% YOY)
- Travel Industry Employment: 22,345Â (down 31Â jobs YOY)Â
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Tourism Business Statistics (2018)*
- 77 percent of Sonoma County tourism businesses are small (fewer than 25 employees)Â
- 85 percent of tourism businesses are locally owned, only two percent of these are franchises
- 43 percent have been in business for more than 20 years, 35 percent have been in business for 10 or fewer years
*Sonoma County Economic Development Board’s Annual Tourism Report
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MORE INFORMATION
- Sonoma County Tourism Indicators (updated monthly): Lodging Occupancy and Average Daily Rate 2018-2020
- County of Sonoma Economic Development Board
- EDB Quarterly TOT Reports
- Annual Tourism Report 2020
- Tourism and Restaurant Industries Reports (From County of Sonoma EDB)Â
- California Travel and Tourism Commission Research from Visit CaliforniaÂ
- Visit California's Plans
- Travel Industry Association of America
- Charles M. Schulz Sonoma County Airport Passenger Numbers
- US Outdoor Recreation Impact Report
- US Travel Forecast
- Skift Trends
Want to learn more? Destination Analysts is a research firm that publishes "The State of the American Traveler," an excellent snapshot of domestic travelers.