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Fresno County celebrates Tourism Month with 31.4% increase in travel spending and new app challenge  

Travelers spent $1.3 billion in Fresno County during 2022, up 31.4% from 2021, continuing trends of an accelerated recovery for travel in the region, according to new economic impact research released Thursday by Visit California.

The Economic Impact of Travel report conducted by Dean Runyan Associates was released as California Tourism Month and National Tourism Week kick off this May.

The report shows visitor air transportation to Fresno County brought in about $68 million, exceeding pre-pandemic numbers. Retail sales also saw a 23.3% increase in 2022, totaling about $186 million of visitor spending. Tax revenue generated from visitors saved Fresno County households an average of $416, and added more than 15,000 jobs to the area last year.

“We’re thrilled to see so many increases to travel spending in Fresno County,” said Fresno/Clovis Convention & Visitors Bureau President/CEO, Lisa Oliveira. “Now our goal is to continue working toward getting all areas of visitors spending in our county up to 2019 numbers.”

Statewide, travel spending grew by 31.7% in 2022 to $134 billion, bringing tourism spending 93% of the way back to pre-pandemic levels. During that time, the travel sector added 157,000 jobs in California, bringing statewide total to 1.1 million jobs supported by tourism. Visitor-generated tax revenue for state and local government increased by 21.6% to $11.9 billion.

In celebration of Tourism Month, the Fresno/Clovis Convention & Visitors Bureau has launched the #OnlyInFresnoCounty challenge, an online tour through its mobile app. Participants can use the app to embark on a self-guided tour to see some of Fresno County’s most notable landmarks. The first 50 people to complete the challenge will win a FREE #OnlyInFresnoCounty t-shirt. All other participants will receive a specialty tote bag and sticker.

To learn more about the Fresno/Clovis Convention & Visitors Bureau, go to https://www.visitfresnocounty.org/.

For more information contact: Hayley Salazar, Marketing/Communications Manager, Visit Fresno County at 559-981-5511 or hayley.salazar@fresnocvb.org.