Research Dashboard

2024 Economic Impact of Travel

Travel Indicators Summary

While macroeconomic indicators for September were limited due to the federal government shutdown, overall inflation held steady at 3%, while consumer confidence in the overall economy trended downward.
Sentiment among California residents even turned somewhat more positive for the month. Overall, Americans are prioritizing travel, with 59% saying leisure travel is a budget priority and 87% saying they are excited about travel in the next 12 months.
Lodging performance cooled across the U.S. in September, with California posting moderate declines across all key performance indicators. Statewide RevPAR fell 4.4% for the month, compared with a 2.1% decrease nationally. Occupancy in California dropped 3.1%, driven by softer room demand in Southern California markets such as Orange County (-9.2%) and Los Angeles County (-6.2%).
Nonstop international airlift from California’s priority markets declined 3% year over year. Airlift from Mexico continued to grow, with 10% more seats than a year ago. Airlift from India to the state was down a notable 44% due to aircraft availability and retrofitting, among other factors.

Source: Visit California and third-party data sets