San Diego, CA
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)
CHULA VISTA (CNS) – The California Highway Patrol activated a Silver Alert today to help locate a 79-year-old woman last seen in Chula Vista.
Evangeline Rodriguez was last seen about 5:55 a.m. Thursday at Wildbrook Place and Woodspring Drive in Chula Vista. She is believed to be driving a white 2018 Honda CRV with California license plate 9JBS786.
Rodriguez is Hispanic, 5 feet, 2 inches tall, 130 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes, last seen wearing a T-shirt and blue jeans.
Anyone who sees Rodriguez, or knows where she is, is urged to call 911.
The CHP activates a Silver Alert when an elderly or developmentally or cognitively impaired person is missing and determined to be at risk. It is
hoped providing immediate information to the public will aid in their swift
recovery.
Copyright 2026, City News Service, Inc.
Jim Dutton, local bestselling author, will discuss his legal thriller Path to Revenge at an in-person meeting at 2 p.m. on Thursday, July 23. hosted by Del Mar Community Connections Page Turners. The meeting will be held at St. Peter’s Parish Hall, 334 14th St. in Del Mar. The discussion occurs in partnership with the Del Mar branch library. Registration is required. DMCC has reserved a limited number of complimentary copies of the novel for 92014 residents who want to get in on the discussion.
Revenge is a dish best served cold, and in this explosive sequel, it’s lethal. Path to Revenge is a gripping psychological legal thriller that dives into government corruption, internal affairs investigations, and grand jury drama. Haunted by his past and driven by a relentless need for justice, Nick Drummond finds himself torn apart by an organized crime vendetta and his actions to bury the truth. If you love unreliable heroes, hard-boiled detectives, and high-stakes litigation, this is your next binge-worthy read, a news release states.
Dutton was a career prosecutor in California. National television shows 48 Hours, Cold Case, and Forensic Files have featured his murder trials. He prosecuted numerous child molestation and rape cases. He was the chief of the California Attorney General’s Money Laundering Program for 20 years and testified before the U.S. Congress several times on that subject. Dutton was the representative for human trafficking for the San Diego-based California Attorney General’s Office and incorporated a human trafficking analysis in his Money Laundering Manual for law enforcement, the news release stated.
Dutton is an avid outdoorsman, photographer, and traveler. He has written numerous travel and legal articles over the years. He lives with his wife, two sons, and their incorrigible, skunk-seeking dog, Wylie Coyote, in Del Mar.
Del Mar Community Connections (DMCC) is an independent 501c3 nonprofit organization with a mission to support and serve the older adults of Del Mar so that they may age independently at home. DMCC helps seniors live active, vibrant lives by providing transportation, education, and social activities, including cultural discussions like Page Turners. Those interested in attending the discussion will find the registration link at www.dmcc.cc/PageTurnersRegistration, or call the DMCC office at (858) 792-7565 to receive assistance.
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