Despite the Golden State's magnetic quality, it took decades of proactive leadership to build the state's tourism industry into the multibillion-dollar industry it is today.
Read on to learn more about the history of tourism in California.
- 1850 | California becomes 31st state in the Union.
- 1850s-1870s | Rail travel enables first major waves of mainstream leisure travel with the founding of California’s first railroad, the Sacramento Valley Railroad and the completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad.
- 1890s-1920s | The first gasoline automobile is sold; mainstream automobile travel creates new connectivity between beyond-the-rails destinations.
- 1920s-1930s | First California ski resort, motel open, along with the launch of the state’s first commercial flight; airline rental car locations popularize the growing industry; Highway 1 opens in Big Sur.
- 1950s-1970s | Federal Aid Highway Act establishes the United States’ first Interstate Highway System; I-80 opens as California’s first freeway; Disneyland, Universal Studios Hollywood, SeaWorld open and become some of the world’s most-visited attractions.
- 1989-1992 | Loma Prieta earthquake devastates Bay Area and visitation to California plummets to all-time low; in response, early tourism leaders concept idea for public-private partnership to promote travel to California.
- 1995-1998 | Gov. Pete Wilson signs Tourism Marketing Act, enabling state’s travel industry to assess itself to conduct statewide tourism marketing; passage of first industry-wide referendum gives the newly created California Travel and Tourism Commission (CTTC) legal standing.
- 1998-2000 | CTTC scales globally, opens first international offices; first California Welcome Centers open.
- 2001 | 9/11 rocks nation; domestic travel drops by 50 percent.
- 2002-2003 | Tourism returns to pre-9/11 levels.
- 2006 | California meets domestic market share goals in tourism benchmarks five years ahead of projections.
- 2008-2010 | Great Recession grips nation; leisure and hospitality one of only four sectors to post employment gains.
- 2011-2013 | California becomes first state in country to surpass $100 billion in travel-related spending.
- 2016-2019 | 100th Tourism Business Improvement District opens; tourism industry repeatedly breaks own records, sets new high-water marks in travel spending, employment, tax revenues.
- 2020 | In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Newsom issues first-in-the-nation statewide stay-at-home order, restricting residents from leaving their homes except for essential purposes. The pandemic results in global crash of the travel and tourism sector, with a loss of 613,000 California jobs in hospitality.
- 2021 | Visit California announces that the state is “back in business,” promoting the reopening of hotels, restaurants, theme parks and other attractions without capacity limits or distancing requirements.
- 2023 | After a devastating downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, travel spending in California surpasses the $144.9 billion spent in 2019 (unadjusted for inflation).
- 2024 | Even as travel spending sees a modest 3% increase from the year prior, spending is not keeping pace with inflation, industry employment remains below pre-pandemic levels and economic forecasts anticipates year-over-year decline in visitation for 2025.
