The Blossom Trail is just one of the tourism attractions in Fresno County that spurred $1.3 billion in visitor spending last year.

The Fresno/Clovis Convention and Visitors Bureau announced today the county’s overall tourism revenue from 2022, revealing continued gains over 2021 thanks largely to the continued tourism recovery following the pandemic.

Travelers to Fresno County spent a combined $1.3 billion during 2022, up 31.4% from 2021, holding pace with the state’s total tourism revenue increase of 31.7%.

The report released by state tourism board Visit California and prepared by Dean Runyan Associates showed visitor air transportation generated about $68 million, which exceeded pre-pandemic figures. Retailers also saw a 23.3% increase in sales last year, totaling about $168 million in visitor spending.

Additionally, Fresno County households saw an average of $416 in savings thanks to tax revenue generated from tourism. The boom in tourism also added more than 15,000 jobs to the region.

“We’re thrilled to see so many increases to travel spending in Fresno County,” said Lisa Oliveira, president and CEO of the Fresno/Clovis Convention and Visitors Bureau. “Now our goal is to continue working towards getting all areas of visitors spending in our county up to 2019 numbers.”

Last year, the travel sector added 157,000 jobs statewide, bringing the total number of tourism jobs to 1.1 million. Visitor-generated tax revenue increased by 21.6% for state and local governments, totalling $11.9 billion statewide.

The Fresno/Clovis Convention and Visitors Bureau is celebrating California Tourism Month in May by launching the #onlyinfresnocounty challenge, an online tour available through its mobile app. The challenge encourages visitors to mark off notable Fresno landmarks like Chukchansi Park, Tower Theater, Clovis Botanical Gardens and more. All participants are eligible for prizes, with the first 50 participants to complete the challenge receiving a free Fresno County t-shirt.

For more information on the Fresno/Clovis Convention and Visitors Bureau, visit www.visitfresnocounty.org.