This is a guest blog from Caroline Beteta, the president & CEO of Visit California, the state’s privately funded nonprofit tourism board.

After nine consecutive years of growth, California’s travel and tourism economy continues to surge. Visitors pumped more than $140 billion in travel spending in counties across California last year, stimulating business development and providing Californians with more than one million jobs.

Tourism Drives Local Economies

Last year, visitor spending generated $11.8 billion in tax revenue for state and local jurisdictions and was among the top three sources of funding for many counties. This revenue helps fund vital programs and infrastructure projects and saves California households an additional $890 in taxes each year to maintain state and local services. That’s enough money to resurface 17,000 miles of two-lane roads or employ 107,000 law enforcement officers.