We’re in the middle of National Travel and Tourism Week, a celebration of US travel and its impact on economic growth, job creation, and support of vibrant communities, like San Diego.
With our beautiful beaches, pristine hiking trails, theme parks, and beloved annual events, America’s Finest City is a tourist hotspot — and these 2022 stats from the San Diego Tourism Authority prove it.
🔢 Local tourism, by the numbers
- 214,000: The number of locals directly and indirectly employed by the visitor industry — including lodging, food service, and attractions.
- $13.6 billion: The amount visitors spend annually in SD — in 2022, nearly 80% of this was spent at local businesses other than lodging.
- 28.8 million: SD’s annual visitors — in 2022, 16.5 million of them stayed overnight.
- 64,021: The number of local hotel rooms, available across 562 hotel, motel, bed + breakfast, and casino properties.
- 72.6%: The average hotel occupancy in San Diego in 2022.
- $1+ billion: How much the local tourism industry generates annually in taxes.
- 437,171: Attendees across 51 primary conventions and trade shows at the San Diego Convention Center in 2022.
- 10.8 million: Passengers who arrived at the San Diego International Airport.
- 2.2 million: Northbound travelers served by Cross Border Xpress across the bridge from Tijuana Airport to San Diego.
- 30 seconds: The length of this catchy “Happy & You Know It” local tourism ad.
🌴 Livin’ la vida local
To tour San Diego like a local (or maybe branch out a little), try this:
- Pencil in these quintessential annual SD events, from the San Diego County Fair and OTL, to San Diego Comic-Con International and San Diego Beer Week.
- Bask in our local parks.
- Enjoy the city’s cuisine, like our birria scene.
- Take a road trip to Julian.
- Travel slightly north to Temecula.
- Enjoy a getaway to Oceanside.
