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Research & Reports: Tourism in Sonoma County

Tourism and hospitality are an integral part of the economy for the United States, California, and Sonoma County. 

Download the 2023 Sonoma County Quick Facts

 

Monthly Tourism Destination Data Dashboard for Sonoma County
provided by Tourism Economics. Sources: STR, AirDNA and STS Sonoma County Airport.

    Visitor Statistics (2022)

    • 9.9 million visitors came to Sonoma County in 2021 (+18% over 2020 levels and -3.5% of the 2019 visitor volume)
    • Of these, 54% (5.3 million) are day visitors and 46% (4.6 million) are overnight visitors (Source: Longwoods International)
    • In 2022, Sonoma County experienced a marked recovery in visitor spending. Visitors spent $2.299 billion in Sonoma County in 2022, an increase of 18.7% over 2021, which also outpaced the 2019 pre-pandemic spending total by 2.7% (Source: Dean Runyan Associates 2022)
    • Tourism and hospitality have always been important industries for Sonoma County’s workforce. 2022 saw a gain of 20.1% in travel sector jobs. Hospitality industry employment in 2022 was 21,150 (10% of the overall workforce) and recovered to 94% of 2019 employment levels. (Source: Dean Runyan Associates)

    Travel Impacts for Sonoma County (2022):

    State and local government revenue generated by the local Sonoma County tourism industry ($223 million in 2022) is used to help support regional parks, economic development, arts and culture, education, roads, public safety, education, affordable housing and workforce development among other community programs.  (source: Visit California / Dean Runyan and Associates.

    View data for Sonoma County:  "California Travel Impacts by County - Sonoma" 

    View data for Sonoma County: Dean Runyan Economic Impact of Tourism Report for calendar year 2022

    Travel Impacts for the State of California (2022):

    Information from Visit California / Dean Runyan and Associates.
    View full report: "California Travel Impacts " for 2022.

    • In 2022, travel spending grew to $134.4 billion, a 31.7% increase from the prior year. Since the peak of 2019, travel spending has declined by 7.2%.
    • The travel industry supported approximately 1.09 million jobs in 2022, a 16.8% increase from the prior year. Compared to 2019, travel industry employment has declined by 7.3%.
    • Travel-generated state and local tax revenue increased to $11.9 billion in 2022, an increase of 21.6% from the prior year. Compared to 2019, travel-generated tax revenue has fallen by 3%.
    • Visitor air travel on domestic flights to California destinations increased by 66% in 2022, from 21.4 million to 35.5 million arrivals.
    • Visitors who stayed in a hotel, motel, or short-term vacation rental (STVR) spent a combined $67.6 billion in 2022, an increase of 25.7% compared to 2021.

    TOT Assessment by City in Sonoma County

    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.

    • Cloverdale – 10 percent
    • Healdsburg – 12 percent
    • Petaluma – 10 percent
    • Rohnert Park – 12 percent
    • Santa Rosa – 9 percent
    • Sebastopol – 12 percent
    • Sonoma – 12 percent
    • Windsor – 12 percent
    • Unincorporated County – 12 percent

    Tourism Business Statistics (2018)*

    • 77 percent of Sonoma County tourism businesses are small (fewer than 25 employees) 
    • 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

     

    MORE INFORMATION

    Want to learn more? Destination Analysts is a research firm that publishes "The State of the American Traveler," an excellent snapshot of domestic travelers.