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Sonoma County Indicators

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Tourism

Tourism is essential to Sonoma County. 2019 marked a record setting year for Sonoma County Airport foot traffic and total destination spending by tourists. However, in the face of COVID-19, Sonoma County’s tourism industry has taken a large hit. With low hotel occupancy rates and a nearly 60% decline in airport foot traffic in, Sonoma County’s tourism industry was able to rise above it’s challenges and bring airport traffic back up by 55% from 2020, nearing 2019’s totals.

Graph illustrating destination spending by county with Monterey County having the largest spend at about $2.5 million and El dorado County having the smallest spend at about $1 million. Sonoma County’s destination spending decreased by 49.5% from $2.1 billion in 2019 to $1.97 billion in 2021. Source: California Travel Impacts by County 2020 visitcalifornia.com/research/economic-impact Graph illustrating annual TOT collections. TOT revenues in Sonoma County decreased 26.3% from $48.7 million in 2019––the highest ever collected in Sonoma County––to $35.9 million in 2020. Source: California Travel Impacts by County 2020 visitcalifornia.com/research/economic-impact
Graph illustrating the total number annual airport passengers that travel through the Charles M. Schulz Sonoma County Airport. Arrivals at Charles M. Schulz-Sonoma County Airport plummeted 60% after bringing in 488,000 passengers in 2019. Since 2012, passenger traffic at the Airport has increased each year, with the exception in 2020. Airport traffic increased by 55%, but has not yet hit pre-pandemic levels. Source: Charles M. Schulz - Sonoma County Airport Monthly Passengers Reports Graph illustrating the annual average daily rate for a room in Sonoma County. 2020 is the first year that this number has decreased since 2010. For 2020, the average daily rate fell by 22.7% over the previous year to $140. The ADR for Sonoma County in 2021 saw a steep increase and the highest number in the last decade, sitting at an average of $200 a night, and a 42.9% increase from the previous year. Source: STR Inc.
Graph illustrating employment generated by travel spending by county. With 17,640 jobs generated by tourist destination spending, Sonoma County ranks second against comparable counties - Monterey generated 21,550 tourism jobs, Napa generated 13,840 tourism jobs, and El Dorado generated 12.360 tourism jobs in 2021. Source: California Travel Impacts by County 2020 visitcalifornia.com/research/economic-impact