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Visit Yosemite: County tourism spending rose to $434.8 million, officials say
Summary
Visit Yosemite told the Board April 21 that direct tourism spending in Madera County rose about 2.4% to $434.8 million in 2025, supporting roughly 4,400 jobs; staff highlighted marketing gains, grants to local nonprofits and a retired executive role to be posted this summer.
Visit Yosemite presented its 2025 year‑end tourism report to the Madera County Board of Supervisors on April 21, saying countywide direct spending reached $434.8 million and tourism supports about 4,400 local jobs.
"434.8 million dollars in total direct spending for tourism in Madera County," the presenter said, and added that direct local tax revenue increased to about $18.4 million while state tax receipts attributed to local visitors were about $20.5 million.
The director outlined the bureau’s marketing programs, noting a reported tourism marketing pool of about $2.2 million (a year‑over‑year increase reported at 16.3% on the bureau’s accounting), targeted digital advertising and an influencer program. Staff said digital ad campaigns spent roughly $208,000, generated nearly 50 million impressions and drove about 900,000 clicks to the county tourism website at a cost per click they described as about $0.23.
Officials highlighted on‑the‑ground programs and events that bolstered visitation: printed visitor guides (about 85,000 distributed), the Celtic Festival (roughly 3,000 attendees), volunteer cleanup efforts that removed an estimated 780 pounds of trash, and a community grant program that distributed roughly $130,000 to local nonprofits using a portion of an adopted half‑percent lodging assessment.
The presenter also described international trends — a drop in Canadian visitation and growth from markets such as Japan — and said Visit Yosemite is pursuing targeted outreach (including a summer sales mission to Japan and Korea) to sustain growth.
Board members thanked Visit Yosemite staff and discussed coordination with county efforts such as an agritourism map, master trails planning and mobility studies. The presenter announced she will retire in December and that a job posting will be issued in July.
The board did not take a separate vote on the presentation; members were invited to follow up with staff for additional data and to view the bureau’s destination video.
