05/2023 Blog Topic: Why the tourism sector is so important for Marin’s future

Written on . Posted in Blog, Recent News

May 2023

When the pandemic hit, California’s tourism industry effectively shut down. Even when hotels and restaurants were permitted to resume operations, there wasn’t much interest to travel considering the high risk of contracting COVID. However, a recent report commissioned by “Visit California”, the state’s tourism agency, suggests tourism in California is almost to peak levels in 2019 and well on its way to a full recovery. As a $135 billion industry, that is good news for the state and the many businesses and employees that associate with the sector. But what about Marin? How are we doing and what is our outlook?

Starting with the 2022 annual report of the Marin County Visitors Bureau, the organization that promotes tourism in Marin, hotel occupancy increased by over 11% from 2021 to 2022, averaging 72% occupancy. The portion of room revenues collected through the Transit Occupancy Tax (TOT) scheme from participating jurisdictions amounted to over $1.5 million in 2022, up significantly from the almost $1.1 million collected in 2021. So, clearly more people are staying in Marin, which is a more important metric than people visiting Marin from a revenue perspective, given the average spend of an overnight guest is $147/person compared to just $59/person for day trippers (MEF 2019).

Circling back to the state report, Marin’s overall tourism performance is impressive, with total travel spending in Marin reported at $852.2 million, surpassing the $832 million reported in 2019, which itself was a seven-year high. These revenues generated over $73 million in state and local taxes, while providing employment to an estimated 5,600 persons. According to MEF’s own figures, the number of workers in Marin County that serve the tourism market could be as high as 30,000 – a huge portion of our approximately 120,000 jobs in the county, when occupations at hotels, restaurant, retail and other entertainment is considered.

So, strictly from a numbers perspective, the importance of the tourism sector cannot be understated. Ask local elected leaders of our many cities and towns and they will collectively agree on the important economic opportunities visitors bring their downtowns. But there are reasons beyond local spending why tourism is important in Marin:As an industry, tourism leverages the existing natural beauty resources of the county, and doesn’t require a large footprint of buildings, relative to some other big industries. Marin County has made a tremendous effort over decades to protect open space and coastal areas not only for preservation but so residents (and visitors) can enjoy these spaces with a light footprint. The win-win effect is that we safeguard our environment while creating economic opportunities that are a direct result of the conservation effort.

There are low barriers to entry for tourism-related local businesses. While Marin’s economy includes sophisticated sectors like biotech, IT and healthcare, which can require huge amounts of upfront capital to launch, most of the small businesses operating in the tourism sector rely on simple business models and minor capital requirements. From kayak rentals to event planners to charter fishing, tourism entrepreneurs have proven models and more immediate business ownership opportunities.
Tourism will always be an important sector in Marin. The Marin economy is diverse, however, over time some industries have come and gone, while new ones (like biotech) were not even considered in Marin just 20 years ago. With protected natural assets, a dynamic regional economy, and always high interest in neighboring wine country or the many sporting and corporate events that draw visitors to the Bay Area, there will always be interest to visit and play in Marin.

Tourism leads to growth in additional sectors. Visitors to Marin do not just come for the views. In West Marin, farms and ranches have been hosting tourists for meals and direct to consumer sales, bringing more economic activity to that sector. Most jurisdictions in Marin host some kind of event, be it the Fairfax Festival, the County Fair or otherwise, that rely on local labor, talent and businesses. The direct and indirect spending effects from tourism are among the most important of any sector in Marin.
The most recent data regarding our tourism sector confirms it is on a steady return, on pace to surpass our previous high levels pre-pandemic. The data underlies a sentiment most of us residents already had, that our natural assets, if well managed, can provide economic and social benefits today and for years to come.

In our effort to responsibly share data and information with our external audiences, we pay careful attention to data and other privacy rights to ensure compliance. In some cases, this means we can cite a source but we are unable to include access to the source itself as a link, attachment or otherwise, and it also requires careful attention to the reuse of that data for our own purposes.

Mike Blakeley, CEO
Marin Economic Forum