Tourism

Goal

Encourage increased travel to California by fostering investment in advertising and improvements to tourism infrastructure, considering the important role of tourism in the state’s economy and plans for economic recovery.

Major Victories

Supported legislation signed into law that will create construction jobs building travel infrastructure (SB 1192 of 2010).

Backed a tourism industry effort that won approval of legislation in 2006 providing a significant boost to funding to market California as a travel destination (AB 2592), helping the fourth largest employers in the state compete with other states and nations in attracting travelers and the resulting revenues and jobs.

Issue Summary

Tourism in California

Position: The California Chamber of Commerce supports policies that will help California safely return to its status as a premier tourist destination both for domestic and international travelers, while also ensuring visitors and employees are protected from COVID-19. This includes supporting policies that promote tourism, including Visit California and tourism improvement districts, as well as new incentives to bring significant events or attractions to California.

As an example of these policies, the 2021–2022 budget included $95 million in funds for Visit California to promote tourism as California re-opened. (This push was championed by Senator Mike McGuire (D-Healdsburg) and Assemblymember Sharon Quirk-Silva (D-Fullerton) via their bill, SB 285, which was subsumed into the budget.) The 2022–2023 budget included another $15 million for this purpose.