San Diego

US Tourism is Down; San Diego Hit Hardest

According to a new study conducted by Foursquare, tourism in the U.S. has dropped 11 percent since October 2016

Tourism in the United States has dropped 11 percent since October 2016, according to a new study outlined by Foursquare’s CEO Jeff Glueck.

The company used real-time data to track about 13 million of its users. Results showed that California was hit the hardest by the tourism decline.

Los Angeles and San Diego are the two cities impacted the most by the drop, according to the study.

Visitors spend about $10.4 billion at San Diego businesses every year. Tourism also accounts for about 13 percent of the jobs in San Diego County, according to San Diego Tourism Authority.

General Manager of the Wyndham Bayside in San Diego, Joe Eustice, says that travel represents about five percent of his business.

“Seventy-five percent of our travelers are those domestic travelers who are either coming on business or leisure travel. Another 20 percent is probably associated with city-wide conventions and conventions,” Eustice said.

“The euro and the pound have had a significant change in the last six months, so that could always cause an opportunity for there to be less travel,” Eustice added.

Eustice also noted that France and Germany have also had major political changes and that could affect international travel as well.

The Foursquare study suggests that the election of President Donald Trump could be a possible factor as to why tourism in the U.S. is down.

The study points out residents of the Middle East and Central and South America are avoiding the U.S. more than residents of Asia and Europe.

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