California sees drop in international tourism, report shows
International tourism down in California
Tourists in San Francisco said tariffs and changes in immigration policies have done much to complicate travel plans.
SAN FRANCISCO - A newly released report shows that California has experienced a significant drop in international tourism.
Visit California, a nonprofit that promotes tourism to the Golden State, said international tourist visits from Canada, Mexico, the U.K., Germany, and Australia, among other countries, are down 15% to 26% this year.
In March, international tourism dropped 11% compared to the same month the previous year.
For four decades, Kervan Samuel has been a street musician at Fisherman’s Wharf.
"I'm seeing less, I'm seeing fewer tourists. You're not seeing the real spending type of tourists that we had a couple months ago," Samuel said.
In San Francisco, though foreigners make up about a third of tourists, they spend almost twice as much money. Major attractions, such as Pier 39, said it has been business as usual so far, but they face a potential triple whammy this fall: gift shops might not have enough merchandise, much of which is imported, not enough diners, and a big drop in foreign tourism.
"We haven't seen any impacts yet on international visitors. What we are expecting is that many people right now internationally are keeping the trips that they already had planned," said Pier 39 CEO Scott Gentner.
Hotels are doing alright for now.
"We're keeping a very close eye on the numbers into our airport. And we're paying attention to the patterns and practices of travelers, and we recognize there's a lot of uncertainty right now in the air," said Alex Bastian of the Hotel Council of San Francisco.
For San Francisco International Airport, the only negative upcoming sign has to do with Canadian tourists.
"We do know that some of the Canadian carriers are adjusting their summer travel schedule, citing some softer than usual demand," said SFO spokesman Doug Yakel.
Going into May is just the edge of the traditional vacation holiday season, so whatever numbers exist may be skewed for a lot of reasons. But come five or six weeks from now, we'll have a clearer idea of how this has impacted the tourist trade.
"I don't think that's impacting travel as much as ICE is. People are afraid that if you don't have the exact perfect paperwork, you can get picked up," said Curtis Sparks, a Seattle cruise passenger.
"But I have heard a lot of people being very, very negative with the tariffs. Yes," said Seattle cruise passenger Joe Bahr.
The acid test comes as soon as school's out and for the 100 days that follow.