California residents increasingly recognize the benefits of tourism

The long-term success of the travel industry depends not only on delivering exceptional visitor experiences, but also on fostering strong support from the residents who live and work in California’s destinations every day.

To better understand how Californians perceive the impact of tourism in their communities, Visit California has partnered with Omnitrak on the annual syndicated study, Resident Sentiment on Travel and Tourism. The ongoing research measures key indicators of how U.S. residents view the travel and tourism industry in their area and provides valuable benchmarking data for California compared to the rest of the nation.

The latest report now includes data spanning 2022 through 2025 for the U.S., California, the state’s 12 tourism regions, 27 counties and 22 cities. The extensive sample size provides a robust view into resident perceptions at both the state and regional levels.

Results from the 2025 study show California continuing to make steady progress across key resident sentiment indicators. This data shows that California’s overall resident sentiment ranking has improved significantly relative to all other U.S. states, signaling growing recognition of tourism’s value to local communities and the state economy. California climbed from 11th out of 50 states in 2023 to second overall in resident sentiment in 2025.

In 2025, 63% of California residents report having a highly positive perception of the state’s travel and tourism industry. More than half of residents also strongly recognize tourism’s economic contributions:

• 55% feel highly positive about tourism as a critical force for job creation and employment opportunities.
• 54% express a high level of positivity toward tourism’s role in generating local tax revenue.
• 59% strongly agree that tourism contributes to the growth of local shopping, dining and entertainment options.
• 53% strongly agree that tourism should be actively promoted by local government.
• 49% strongly agree that tourism provides more benefits than challenges for their communities.

The study also reveals geographic differences in sentiment across the state. Residents in California’s gateway regions continue to report more favorable views toward the travel and tourism industry compared to most non-gateway regions. Among California’s 12 tourism regions, the Deserts region stands out as the most positive toward the state’s tourism industry.

This research provides valuable insights for destination organizations, local governments and industry stakeholders working to support sustainable tourism growth and strengthen community engagement. By tracking resident sentiment annually with a consistent methodology, California’s tourism industry can better understand changing perceptions over time and identify opportunities to further communicate the benefits tourism brings to local economies and quality of life.

Visit California continues to provide this research, along with many other resources, to the tourism industry at no cost through the Visit California industry website. The findings underscore the importance of maintaining strong relationships with residents while advancing destination stewardship efforts that benefit visitors and Californians alike.

Read the full report and download the data here: Resident Sentiment Report and Data