Santa Monica’s Mayor Pro Tem Pam O’Connor kicked off National Tourism Week in Santa Monica on May 11, 2010 to help raise awareness and showcase the integral role the travel industry offers our community.

Santa Monica Mayor Pro Tem Pam O’Connor & SMCVB Travel Counselor Tessa Gogol - Photo by Fitz Carlile

Economic Value of Tourism

The Santa Monica Convention & Visitors Bureau has been conducting visitor profile and economic impact studies triennially since 1983. This research is meant to assess the economic value that tourism affords Santa Monica as a destination city.

Because so many Santa Monica jobs are supported by tourism, the more visitors exploring our city, the better. And with all that Santa Monica has to offer, it’s not surprising that international and domestic visitors keep on coming. Santa Monica tourism growth has achieved record setting numbers recently, and that's good for Santa Monica locals: thousands of our jobs and our schools, parks, libraries and public safety are all supported by revenue from tourism.

Tourism impacts to Santa Monica in 2009:

Number of people who visit Santa Monica each year: over 6.3 million
Tax revenue into the City of Santa Monica generated by tourism: $34 million
Total revenue from visitors to Santa Monica businesses: $1.1 billion
Number of jobs supported by tourism in Santa Monica: nearly 12,000

Click here for a Summary Report of the Economic Impacts of Tourism in Santa Monica.

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