NOVEMBER 9, 2026
Two years after San Francisco’s tourism industry hit a post-pandemic low, visitors are flocking back, and the city’s hotels now lead the nation’s major markets. For 2026, San Francisco has posted the strongest year-to-date growth in revenue per available room (RevPAR) among the top 25 U.S. markets—up 19.4%. Monthly CoStar data for the market also shows that RevPAR rose year over year in every month of 2026 except April, with the biggest jumps around major events.
Read MoreNOVEMBER 9, 2026
California voters have rejected Prop 40, a ballot measure that sought to impose a one-time tax on the state’s billionaires. The measure sharply divided Democrats and also faced a barrage of ad spending funded by the billionaires it would have affected, particularly in Silicon Valley. Critics in both parties argued that the tax would prompt wealthy Californians to flee the state in droves, which would dry up broader tax revenue streams and create more budget problems.
Read MoreNOVEMBER 6, 2026
FlyTahoe, a company planning to use electric hydrofoil boats to ferry passengers across Lake Tahoe, is developing infrastructure around the lake to support its planned service. FlyTahoe has held on-the-water demonstrations of its vessels, but it has yet to begin operations and is awaiting regulatory approval. In the meantime, the company is demonstrating its commitment to serving the region by expanding fast-charging infrastructure along the shoreline.
Read MoreNOVEMBER 6, 2026
According to a new forecast from U.S. Travel, the industry is facing another warning sign as international visitor spending is projected to decline by nearly $11 billion in 2026. The inflation-adjusted decline represents a 6.3% drop, bringing international visitor spending to an estimated $163 billion. International arrivals are also not expected to return to 2019 levels until 2030, which could have significant consequences for destinations that depend on overseas visitors.
Read MoreNOVEMBER 2, 2026
Governor Gavin Newsom is proposing another major expansion of California’s film and television tax credit, urging the state to dedicate at least $1 billion annually to keeping production in California. The program saw an expansion from $330 million to $750 million last year. If passed, the proposal would extend the program through 2040 and make California’s program the largest capped film and TV tax credit in the country.
Read MoreOCTOBER 29, 2026
Ian Choudri, the CEO of California’s High-Speed Rail Authority has resigned. His resignation follows a tumultuous two-year tenure troubled by budget woes, project delays, transparency concerns, and various scandals including the misuse of nearly $600,000 in taxpayer money. Choudri will be replaced by Joe Stephenshaw, who has led the state Department of Finance since July 2022 after working as a policy analyst in the state Legislature for more than a decade.
Read MoreOCTOBER 29, 2026
Brand USA and its many partners are making the most of the “quiet tourism” cross-border travel trend. While political tensions are still high and millions of Canadians are still holding off on cross-border travel, plenty of others are quietly making the trek, and Brand USA and its partners are ready. The latest year-over-year numbers from StatCan show two months of back-to-back increases in both car and air travel from our neighbors north of the border.
Read MoreOCTOBER 28, 2026
Airbnb announced plans to donate a portion of revenue from every stay booked to Airbnb.org, a nonprofit that provides free, temporary housing to people in crisis, including those in need due to disasters, medical travel, and conflict. Under the new funding model, Airbnb will donate $0.10 for every stay. Together with other donations, the contributions are expected to provide $500 million in funding to Airbnb.org over the next five years.
Read MoreOCTOBER 24, 2026
A storm moving through the Sierra Nevada last week brought snow to California ski resorts, some for the first time this season, with many places counting down the days until opening. Elevation played a big role in this storm, and likely will continue to influence snowfall this winter, with El Niño predicted to bring warm and wet storms to the Sierra Nevada. The Eastern Sierra led the snow totals with more than six inches of snow at Mammoth Mountain's summit.
Read MoreOCTOBER 24, 2026
According to Visit SLO CAL’s fiscal year 2026 annual report, San Luis Obispo County welcomed a record 7.7 million visitors last year. Those visitors generated $2.37 billion in direct travel spending, supported nearly 25,000 local jobs, and contributed more than $112 million in local tax revenue that helps fund essential services. The report credits the strong rebound in visitation to the reopening of Highway 1 in January 2026, which restored access along the coastal route.
Read MoreOCTOBER 22, 2026
Mahjong, a nineteenth-century tile game from China, has surged in popularity, becoming a major travel trend. According to National Public Radio (NPR), the craze is sweeping through people from their 20s to super seniors, but especially among Gen Z and Millennials. Media reports show massive increases in Yelp searches (+4,500%) and Eventbrite event listings (+179%). Now luxury resorts and wellness retreats are introducing mahjong programs of their own.
Read MoreOCTOBER 21, 2026
Starting November 20, Airbnb is limiting what hosts can ask of guests. The company's updated guidelines say hosts will not be allowed to "ask guests to complete tasks that require significant effort or time, or would typically be performed by a cleaner, including stripping the bed, taking trash offsite, or washing and putting away dishes." Additionally, hosts may not restrict use of amenities advertised in their listing nor charge guests fines or penalties.
Read MoreOCTOBER 21, 2026
AAA is projecting that a record 22.4 million Americans will take cruises domestically and overseas in 2027. This represents a 3.6% increase in cruise passengers over 2026 and the fifth year in a row the number of American cruisers is expected to set a record. AAA reports a surge in cruise travel following the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. The 22.4 million passengers projected for 2027 represent a 57% increase over the 14.2 million American cruise passengers reported in 2019.
Read MoreOCTOBER 21, 2026
In October, SEIU Local 1000’s first strike in its 44-year history unfolded in several cities across the state. The union—which represents about 100,000 workers, nearly half the state workforce—has been in contentious labor talks with the Newsom administration since its latest contract expired in June. Its members want a better raise than Newsom has offered as well as more flexibility to work from home. Both parties are scheduled to resume mediation talks on October 30.
Read MoreOCTOBER 16, 2026
In October, IMEX America marked its fifteenth anniversary with its largest-ever turnout. The milestone drew 17,800 attendees, including over 6,000 buyers, with 4,800 of them hosted from about 60 different world markets. It was also the event's biggest show floor to date, 5% larger than last year. There were about 96,000 prescheduled meetings, 82,000 of which were one-on-one with the remainder being group presentations.
Read MoreOCTOBER 13, 2026
According to recently released data from Statistics Canada, roughly 7% more Canadians traveled to the U.S. in September compared to the same time last year—driven by increases in both car trips (+6%) and flights (+12%). Compared to September 2024, overall visitation from Canadians remained down 29%, driven by fewer trips by car (-31%) and by air (-19%). Statistics Canada said the slight increase is a statistical distortion since 2025 visitation was extraordinarily low.
Read MoreOCTOBER 10, 2026
Both Southwest and Alaska Airlines are aggressively adding flights at San Diego (SAN), and largely as a result of that competition, the Southern California airport has become the fastest-growing in the world. According to a new analysis, the number of passenger flights at SAN this year has jumped by 13% over 2025, beating out the 12% growth rate at Vietnam’s Hanoi Airport and at Switzerland’s Zurich Airport, and the 11% increase at Chicago O’Hare.
Read MoreOCTOBER 6, 2026
Five California destinations have been ranked among the best cities in the U.S. in Condé Nast Traveler’s 2026 Readers’ Choice Awards. Under “best small cities,” Santa Barbara was ranked fifth while Headlsburg ranked eighth. Under “best big cities,” California secured three of the top ten spots. San Diego was ranked tenth, Oakland came in at fifth, and San Francisco secured the second-place spot.
Read MoreOCTOBER 5, 2026
Brand USA has appointed Caroline Beteta as its interim president and CEO, effective November 9. Her focus is to ensure that Congress reauthorizes Brand USA before its current authorization expires on September 30, 2027. Beteta has deep ties to Brand USA, including helping to lay the groundwork for its 2011 founding. While Beteta originally planned to retire this year, she's sticking around to help the industry tackle this critical lobbying effort.
Read MoreOCTOBER 1, 2026
The FAA recently announced that it has hired 2,235 air traffic controller trainees—far exceeding its air traffic controller hiring goals for fiscal year 2026. The new record comes on the heels of the agency's highly publicized and highly successful campaign targeting gamers that recruited more than 12,000 Americans to apply in just 24 hours. Over 1,300 trainees have successfully graduated from the academy already this fiscal year.
Read More
