Travelers To Sacramento Spent $4.06 Billion In 2018

Source: Sacramento Business Journal, Emily Hamann
Photo: Golden 1 Center, which opened in 2016, is among the newer attractions bringing more travelers to Sacramento.
(TODD QUAM, DIGITAL SKY AERIAL IMAGING)

Travelers to Sacramento spent $4.06 billion last year, according to a report showing tourism in the region and the state is on the upswing.

The report released Monday details the dollars and jobs generated by travel throughout California. The report, prepared by Dean Runyan Associates, found that statewide, travel-related spending totaled $140.6 billion in 2018, a 5.4% increase from the previous year.

Sacramento County saw a 5.9% increase in total spending last year. Travel to the county supported 31,290 jobs, most of which, 18,240, were in accommodations and food service. Travelers spent $440.8 million, a 7% increase, on accommodations and $886.2 million, a 3.9% increase, on food service in the county last year.

Most of the people who come here are coming for a convention, said Mike Testa, CEO of Visit Sacramento, the city’s tourism authority. That’s been true for a long time, but now there are other draws, like Golden 1 Center and the Farm-to-Fork Festival, bringing people in as well.

“We are dramatically different than we were even six, seven, years ago,” Testa said.

New projects in the works could bring even more tourists to the area, Testa said. The expansion and renovation of the Sacramento Convention Center, which will include a new ballroom and 160,000 square feet of exhibit space, is underway now. This summer, Sacramento restaurants will also be included in the Michelin Guide.

A portion of the increased spending over the past eight years can be attributed to the economic recovery, Testa said, but part of it is because of Sacramento’s increased offerings.

“Part of that is the economy,” he said, “but we’re a much more attractive market now.”