APRIL 8, 2025

The stock market is continuing to fluctuate wildly. Drawing parallels with the 1929 Wall Street crash and the ensuing 1930s Great Depression, the president’s “liberation day” tariff plan has led to warnings of a global recession from leading economists. As market volatility continues to feed fears, it’s hard to resist comparing what’s happening now with market crises of the past.

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APRIL 7, 2025

Because California receives a disproportionate amount of income tax revenue from capital gains earned by the wealthiest taxpayers, the tumbling stock market could take a significant bite out of the state budget next year. The state is also worried about how the tariffs could weaken California’s large manufacturing and agriculture sectors, as well as tourism and major ports. Finance officials are modeling different scenarios, some of which would require spending cuts.

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APRIL 7, 2025

California tourism could lose billions of dollars because of federal policies on tariffs, immigration, and gender identity, as well as talks of annexing Canada. A broad travel slowdown could hurt different industries that fall under the tourism umbrella, including hospitality and restaurants—and the roughly 3 million Californians who work in them. A significant decline in visitation could also lead to airlines pulling routes from the state’s airports.

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APRIL 6, 2025

The Trump administration has issued an order demanding that all national parks remain open amid severe staffing shortages—an action that raised concerns as park personnel brace for millions of visitors this summer. The order comes after President Trump slashed about 1,000 National Park Service workers this year, with many hundreds more taking buyouts.

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APRIL 4, 2025

According to Google Trends, “no-passport vacations” are going to be the most popular way to travel this summer. Whether it’s due to the economy or the state of air travel, more and more people will be choosing to travel closer to home this year. Recent survey results from Club Wyndham and Talker also found that nearly twice as many people prefer to drive to vacation destinations (40%) than fly (26%), and 60% believe they have not seen enough of the cities or attractions throughout the United States.

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APRIL 2, 2025

While California started the year with a dry spell, February and March brought more fresh snow to the Sierra Nevada, pushing the state's snowpack to 96% of average on April 1, when the snow season typically reaches its peak. The near-average snowpack has given the state a third straight year of ample water supplies in the mountains—something that hasn't happened in a quarter of a century.

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MARCH 26, 2025

The Los Angeles wildfires put a spotlight on several issues hoteliers are up against, including the rising cost of labor amid a high-inflation environment. Hotel owners also worry about the rising cost of insurance, which is climbing as natural disasters like wildfires become more prevalent. Lodging associations are now calling on City Council to suspend city-level tenancy requirements, the Hotel Worker Protection Ordinance, and the Hotel Worker Minimum Wage Ordinance.

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MARCH 25, 2025

After President Trump said he would impose tariffs on Canada, then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau encouraged Canadians to change their vacation plans to focus on exploring destinations within the country—and it worked. A boycott by Canadians—the top international visitor—threatens to upend local economies across the U.S. Canadians made about 20.2 million visits to the U.S. in 2024.

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MARCH 24, 2025

On Monday, CalFire released its final round of color-coded hazard maps, which show how much of the state is prone to wildfires—and how much the danger zone has grown since the last round of hazard maps were released over a decade ago. While the maps have been in the works for years, their release coincides with renewed public anxiety over wildfire risk, the state’s fragile home insurance market, and the management of development in places most prone to burning.

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MARCH 22, 2025

Millions of visitors are drawn to California each year to experience its picturesque landscapes and pristine shoreline. The threats are alarming environmentalists, who consider protecting the shoreline a fundamental part of California’s culture.

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MARCH 21, 2025

Germany, the United Kingdom, Denmark, and Finland are among a growing number of countries warning their citizens about potential problems they could face if they travel to the U.S. The advisory updates appear to highlight recent federal policy changes that have made it harder to cross the border and revoked policies that benefit people who are transgender.

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MARCH 20, 2025

When it comes to the future of travel, experiences are taking center stage and driving destination selection. This evolution of travel planning has created new intersections between live events and destination choices.

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MARCH 20, 2025

The Athletics’ temporary stay in Sacramento has the potential to bring almost a million additional visitors to the region on a seasonal basis. The team's stay provides an opportunity to showcase the region on the national stage of Major League Baseball.

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MARCH 19, 2025

Last week, Tesla received permission from state regulators to begin a charter service that will use Tesla-employed drivers to ferry its employees in company-owned vehicles for prearranged rides. Deploying driverless taxis to the public is a long regulatory road.

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MARCH 13, 2025

Many of California’s restaurants require a reservation for dinner, and for the state’s harder-to-get tables, black market reservation websites have only made things more difficult—and more expensive—for diners. In December, New York became the first state to ban third-party websites from profiting off gamifying reservation platforms. California

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MARCH 11, 2025

Visit California has released drafts of its Regional Strategic Tourism Plans, which are now open for comment through March 31. The grant does not provide funding or staff for any implementation work, but the plans identify resources available at the state and regional levels that organizations can leverage.

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MARCH 10, 2025

According to Statistics Canada, the number of Canadian-resident return trips by car from the U.S. has plunged 23% from a year ago in February, marking the second straight month with a year-over-year decline and the first annual drops since March 2021. The U.S. is the most popular destination for international trips among Canadians.

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MARCH 6, 2025

President Trump has signed an executive order to establish a White House task force for the World Cup, which will be held across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico in July 2026.  The executive order comes after U.S. Travel issued a report detailing the need for major reforms prior to the mega events set to be hosted in the United States, such as the 2026 World Cup and the 2028 Olympics.

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MARCH 6, 2025

The Trump administration’s tariff and immigration policies create uncertainty about California’s economy that’s “very much elevated,” according to a new UCLA Anderson forecast. Immigration policy could also have big effects on California’s economy—one being the loss of undocumented workers from the labor force. According to the forecast’s author, “Deportations and reductions in federal support for health care will disproportionately affect health care and social services, retail, and leisure and hospitality.”

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MARCH 5, 2025

Governor Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency for the state’s forests, allowing his administration to bypass more coastal and permitting regulations and expedite wildfire prevention projects as California recovers from the Los Angeles wildfires. The suspension of CEQA and the Coastal Act also reflects a shared belief among some California Democrats and Republicans that environmental laws are exacerbating the state housing crisis by hindering development.

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