As expected, the Sonoma County tourism industry took a large hit in 2020.
A new study from the economic consulting firm Dean Runyan Associates in Portland suggests that tourism spending in the county was cut in half from $2.2-billion in 2019 to $1.1-billion in 2020. On top of that, tourist tax revenues for local governments fell $112-million and average per visitor spending was slashed in half to $1,037. However, businesses that spoke with the Press Democrat report they are hopeful that things will turn around in the second half of 2021. Current occupancy rates for the local hotel industry are at about 60-percent.