San Diego tourism up in FY 2024 as tourists extend stays, spend more

Tourists are staying longer and spending more money in San Diego in this past fiscal year ending in June, according to the San Diego Tourism Authority.

In FY 2024, 32 million people visited San Diego, up 2 million from FY 2023, but still down from 35 million prepandemic.

“That’s not necessarily a bad thing,” said Kerri Kapich, San Diego Tourism Authority’s chief operating officer. “What we see is perhaps fewer visitors coming in, but they are staying longer in San Diego.”

Longer stays mean more money is being spent here. Tourists spent $14.6 billion last fiscal year — a 2.7% increase from the previous year.

“And once you put that through the total economy of San Diego, it’s $22 billion of total economic impact,” Kapich said. “Those are the highest numbers that we have ever seen.”

With sun, sand and surf; plus local attractions such as the San Diego Zoo, SeaWorld and LegoLand; and the local food scene, it not hard to see why San Diego is one of the top tourist attractions in the country. Readers of Condé Nast Traveler ranked San Diego as the No. 2 best big city in the United States for the second year in a row.

Arizona State University (ASU) student Sam Troester, who is visiting from Phoenix, Arizona, said visiting San Diego was an easy decision.

“(It’s) close by. There’s a beach. Wanted to get out of the bad weather. Three good reasons enough for me,” he said.

The beaches really sold him. “It’s beautiful here, and we love it,” Troester said.

His friend, Ronald McInnis, also an ASU student, said that besides the beaches, the food scene drew him.

“My main reason was mostly for the restaurants, the food that’s offered here,” he said. “My girlfriend, she’s gluten free and pescatarian, and I feel like San Diego, like La Jolla, especially, offers a lot of those selections.”

McInnis said it was probably the best gluten-free and vegan selections he’s had in the U.S.

While San Diego tourism has more or less bounced back from pre-pandemic levels, one soft spot is international travel.

“European markets, Canada and Mexico have performed quite well, but the Asian market is still slower to recover,” Kapich said.

Part of that has to do with available flights coming to San Diego and visa wait times. But with wait times coming down, Kapich said 2025 could be another banner year for San Diego tourism.

By the numbers

• Total economic impact: $22 billion
• Total visitors: 32 million (up 2 million from FY 2023)
• Visitors spending: $14.6 billion
• San Diego City Transient Occupancy Tax generated: $310.7 million
• Hotel occupancy rate: 76% (ahead of Los Angeles, Orange County and San Francisco)