San Francisco Tourism Statistics

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Updated

San Francisco, on the Pacific coast of the United States, had 23.77 million visitors in 2025, and they spent $9.43 billion.1 Visitors come from all over the world for its landmarks, food and culture.

How many tourists visit San Francisco each year?

San Francisco had 23.77 million visitors in 2025: 15.42 million day visitors, 6.09 million domestic overnight visitors and 2.26 million international overnight visitors.1

  • 2019: a record 26.21 million visitors.2
  • 2020: down 55% to 11.82 million during the pandemic, according to San Francisco Travel's 2023 report.3
  • 2025: 23.77 million, up 2% from 2024.1
Annual Visitors to San FranciscoTotal visitors per year, 2019–202510M20M30M26.21M11.82M17.02M21.94M23.09M23.30M23.77M2019202020212022202320242025YearTotal visitors
Annual Visitors to San Francisco

How much do tourists spend in San Francisco annually?

Tourists spent $9.43 billion in San Francisco in 2025, up 1.8% from 2024 but still 1.4% below 2019.1

  • 2019: $9.56 billion, before the pandemic.1
  • 2020: $2.67 billion, down 72% from 2019 as the pandemic hit.1
  • 2025: $9.43 billion, almost back to the pre-pandemic level.1
Annual Visitor Spending in San FranciscoDirect visitor spending per year, US$, 2019–2025$2B$4B$6B$8B$10B$9.56B$2.67B$3.56B$7.47B$8.83B$9.26B$9.43B2019202020212022202320242025YearVisitor spending (US$)
Annual Visitor Spending in San Francisco

How much do international vs domestic tourists spend in San Francisco?

International overnight visitors are the city's biggest spenders.1

  • International overnight visitors spent $4.89 billion in 2025, compared with $3.00 billion by domestic overnight visitors.1
  • Day visitors spent $1.54 billion.1
Visitor Spending by Type of Visitor (2025)Direct spending in San Francisco, US$$1B$2B$3B$4B$5B$4.89B$3.00B$1.54BInternational overnightDomestic overnightDay visitorsType of visitorVisitor spending (US$)
Visitor Spending by Type of Visitor (2025)

Where do San Francisco's visitors come from?

Most of San Francisco's visitors come for the day or are Americans staying overnight. In 2025, 15.42 million were day visitors and 6.09 million domestic overnight visitors, compared with 2.26 million international overnight visitors.1

  • San Francisco's top five international markets are Mexico, the United Kingdom, China, Canada and India.4
  • International overnight visitors are expected to grow by 4.5% to 2.3 million in 2026.4

Camping near San Francisco: costs, campers and where to stay

Camping near San Francisco costs $25 to $40 per night at Golden Gate National Recreation Area's campgrounds,5 and the park charges no entrance fee outside Muir Woods.6

  • Kirby Cove (Golden Gate National Recreation Area): $40 per site per night. The campground is open March to November.5
  • Haypress, Hawk Camp and Bicentennial (Golden Gate National Recreation Area): $25 per site per night. The Haypress group site costs $75 per night.5
  • Point Reyes National Seashore: backcountry sites cost $30 per night for up to six people and $90 for groups of 7 to 25. There is no entrance or parking fee.7

How many people camp near San Francisco?

Point Reyes National Seashore recorded 60,705 backcountry overnight camping stays in 2025, up from 57,235 in 2024.8

RV and campervan parks near San Francisco

  • Candlestick RV Park: 111 full-hookup sites in San Francisco itself, 4 miles from the city center, including pull-through sites with 30- and 50-amp power.10
  • Marin Park: an 87-space RV park in Greenbrae, 10 miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge, with water and electricity. It calls itself the closest RV park to San Francisco.11

RV rental in the USA

Most visited attractions in San Francisco

  • Fisherman’s Wharf – one of the city's busiest waterfront districts.
  • PIER 39 – part of Fisherman’s Wharf, with about 11 million visitors in 2023.12 It was the most visited attraction in 2019.13
  • The Golden Gate Bridge – more than 10 million visitors a year.14
  • The Ferry Building Marketplace – visited by millions of people every year.15
  • San Francisco’s historic Chinatown – its Chinese New Year Festival and Parade draws over 3 million spectators.16
  • Alcatraz Island – around 1.2 million visitors a year.17
  • Golden Gate Park – millions of visitors a year, making it one of the most visited urban parks in the United States.

What changed for San Francisco tourism in 2025?

  • Visitor numbers grew 2% to 23.77 million in 2025, but were still 9.3% below pre-pandemic 2019.1
  • Domestic overnight visitors rose to 6.09 million from 5.71 million in 2024, while international overnight visitors fell to 2.26 million from 2.34 million.1

How did tourist spending change in 2025?

  • Spending rose 1.8% to $9.43 billion. That was 1.4% below 2019, or 21.8% below once inflation is taken into account.1
  • International overnight visitors spent $4.89 billion, down from $5.02 billion in 2024, while domestic overnight visitors spent $3.00 billion, up from $2.75 billion.1

How much is tourism worth to San Francisco's economy?

  • Tourism brought $10.08 billion into San Francisco in 2025: the $9.43 billion spent by visitors plus $644.6 million spent by convention and meeting planners and exhibitors.1
  • Conventions and meetings generated $1.23 billion in direct spending in 2025, up 64.6% from 2024. This figure also counts what attendees spent on hotels, meals and shopping, which is already part of visitor spending, so it is not added on top of the $10.08 billion.1
  • Tourism supported 63,908 jobs in the city in 2025, up 3.5% from 2024 but more than 22,000 fewer than in 2019.1
  • Visitors generated $654.9 million in tax revenue for San Francisco in 2025, up 8.3% from 2024. Hotel tax made up $311.3 million of it.1

San Francisco hotel occupancy and room rates

  • San Francisco hotels averaged 67.2% occupancy in 2025, with an average daily room rate of $245.38.4
  • Revenue per available room was $164.85, up 14.4% from 2024.4
  • Hotel occupancy is forecast to reach 69% in 2026, with an average daily rate of $257.81.4

How many passengers use San Francisco International Airport?

  • San Francisco International Airport (SFO) handled 54.5 million passengers in 2025, up 4.3% from 52.3 million in 2024.18
  • 16.1 million of them were international passengers, up 1.1% from 2024.18

San Francisco tourism statistics by year (2019–2025)

Visitor numbers fell to 11.82 million in 2020 during the pandemic, according to San Francisco Travel's 2023 report, and have grown every year since.3 The 23.77 million visitors in 2025 were still 9.3% below 2019, when 26.21 million people visited.1

San Francisco visitors and spending by year (2019–2025)
YearTotal visitorsDay visitorsDomestic overnightInternational overnightVisitor spending
202523.77 million115.42 million16.09 million12.26 million1$9.43 billion1
202423.30 million115.25 million15.71 million12.34 million1$9.26 billion1
202323.09 million115.09 million15.81 million12.19 million1$8.83 billion1
202221.94 million114.77 million15.43 million11.74 million1$7.47 billion1
202117.02 million312.48 million33.98 million30.56 million3$3.56 billion1
202011.82 million38.91 million32.41 million30.50 million3$2.67 billion1
201926.21 million115.78 million17.48 million12.95 million1$9.56 billion1

Source · San Francisco Travel Association, Visitor Volume and Direct Spending Estimates 2025. The 2020 and 2021 visitor numbers are from its 2023 report.

San Francisco visitor spending by visitor type (2019–2025)
YearDay visitorsDomestic overnightInternational overnightTotal
2025$1.54 billion1$3.00 billion1$4.89 billion1$9.43 billion1
2024$1.50 billion1$2.75 billion1$5.02 billion1$9.26 billion1
2023$1.44 billion1$2.75 billion1$4.64 billion1$8.83 billion1
2022$1.39 billion1$2.40 billion1$3.67 billion1$7.47 billion1
2021$1.01 billion3$1.38 billion3$1.17 billion3$3.56 billion1
2020$0.64 billion3$1.04 billion3$0.98 billion3$2.67 billion1
2019$1.27 billion1$3.18 billion1$5.11 billion1$9.56 billion1

Source · San Francisco Travel Association, Visitor Volume and Direct Spending Estimates 2025. The 2020 and 2021 spending by visitor type is from its 2023 report.

More US tourism statistics

References

  1. San Francisco Visitor Volume and Direct Spending Estimates 2025 (San Francisco Travel Association, published June 2026) · sftravel.com ↑ b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z a2 b2 c2 d2 e2 f2 g2 h2 i2 j2 k2 l2 m2 n2 o2 p2 q2 r2 s2 t2 u2 v2 w2 x2 y2 z2 a3 b3 c3 d3 e3 f3 g3 h3 i3 j3 k3 l3 m3 n3 o3 p3 q3
  2. San Francisco breaks tourism record for 10th year in a row with more than 26M visitors, report finds · abc7news.com ↑
  3. 2023 Visitor Spending & Economic Impact Estimates · sftravel.com ↑ b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p
  4. Mayor Lurie Celebrates Visitors Coming Back To San Francisco In Record Numbers · sf.gov ↑ b c d e
  5. Camping — Golden Gate National Recreation Area (U.S. National Park Service) · nps.gov ↑ b c
  6. Fees & Passes — Golden Gate National Recreation Area (U.S. National Park Service) · nps.gov ↑
  7. Backcountry Camping — Point Reyes National Seashore (U.S. National Park Service) · nps.gov ↑
  8. NPS IRMA Visitor Use Statistics — Overnight Stays (1979 – Last Calendar Year), Point Reyes NS · irma.nps.gov ↑
  9. NPS IRMA Visitor Use Statistics — Overnight Stays (1979 – Last Calendar Year), Golden Gate NRA · irma.nps.gov ↑
  10. About Us — Candlestick RV Park, San Francisco · rvparksf.com ↑
  11. Marin Park — RV park on the sunny side of the Golden Gate Bridge · marinrvpark.com ↑
  12. Leasing — PIER 39 · pier39.com ↑
  13. Fisherman’s Wharf CBD — District Projects & Data · fishermanswharf.org ↑
  14. Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District · goldengate.org ↑
  15. Ferry Building Marketplace — home · ferrybuildingmarketplace.com ↑
  16. Perfect Day in Chinatown (City and County of San Francisco) · sf.gov ↑
  17. Learn About the Park — Alcatraz Island (U.S. National Park Service) · nps.gov ↑
  18. SFO Air Traffic Summary, December 2025 and calendar year to date (San Francisco International Airport) · flysfo.com ↑ b
  19. San Francisco Travel Announces 2025 Tourism Forecast, 2024 Results · sftravel.com
  20. San Francisco Tourism Statistics (RoadGenius) · roadgenius.com