Yosemite National Park, Visit Yosemite Madera County
OAKHURST – Visit Yosemite Madera County reports that tourism was instrumental to the County’s success in 2017, with visitor spending reaching $283.7 million in Madera County. According to the Dean Runyan Associates report released today by Visit California.
The tourism industry supported 4,040 jobs and generated $25.8 million in local and state tax revenue last year.
Statewide, visitors spent a record $132.4 billion, and the tourism industry provided more than 1.1 million jobs for Californians. State and local tax revenue generated by tourism reached $10.9 billion, providing communities like ours with the resources to thrive.
“Tourism brings economic prosperity to every region in California,” says Caroline Beteta, Visit California president and CEO. “The money visitors spend creates hundreds of thousands of jobs for Californians and generates billions of dollars of tax revenue to fund vital local services.”
Last year was the eighth consecutive year of tourism growth, a testament to the success of the industry’s innovative strategies designed to maintain California’s market share of visitors.
Pow Wow and Indian Fair Days, Visit Yosemite Madera County
In 2017, six out of every ten dollars of visitor spending were attributable to out-of-state residents. Tax revenues generated by that visitor spending are a vital source of income for Madera County, funding local services such as police, firefighters, roadways, libraries and more.
“Tourism is a main driver for economic development in Madera County, especially in the eastern part of the county. Oakhurst, Bass Lake, Fish Camp and Coarsegold all rely on tourism for their business success. May is here and we have already seen an influx of tourists,” said Visit Yosemite Madera County CEO Rhonda Salisbury.
“To attract visitors and provide them a positive and comfortable experience, some new additions in 2018 -2019 include three new hotels and a vegan restaurant, while Visit Yosemite Madera County is launching a tourism trolley to transport people around Oakhurst and Bass Lake. To continue to attract visitors, tourism marketing and public relations efforts are in full swing with exciting and fresh innovative marketing efforts to roll out,” Salisbury explains.
Pines Resort Bass Lake, Visit Yosemite Madera County
As international competition continues to grow, Visit California’s statewide marketing efforts allow us to expand our reach and keep pace with other destinations. Last year, the industry invested in 13 international markets to attract visitors from around the world, who typically spend more and stay longer than their domestic counterparts. Once visitors decide to travel to California, our local tourism marketing efforts motivate them to visit our region’s unique attractions and destinations.
According to Beteta: “Without tourism, every California household would need to pay an additional $820 in taxes each year to keep the state funded at its current levels. Given how much tourism contributes to our economy, it is in our shared best interest to keep California a top global destination.”
