California’s tourism industry stands to benefit from the economic troubles that plague the country at large. First, international travelers are taking advantage of the weak dollar to visit the U.S. According to the California Travel and Tourism Commission California, overseas arrivals at SFO surged 10% in 2007 from the previous year.

While fewer Japanese travelers came to the state, California experienced double digit growth in visitors from China and India. In addition, the number of French travelers grew by 21% in 2007.

At the same time, the weak dollar is making it expensive for U.S. citizens to travel abroad. This trend is reflected in the growth in domestic air traffic to California destinations. According to another commission study, conducted by Dean Runyan Associates, passenger traffic to the state from nine of the top ten U.S. markets grew between 2006 and 2007. While passenger traffic from the New York and Seattle areas are California’s top two markets, growing by 3% and 2.2% respectively, Dallas-Ft Worth and Denver are the two fastest growing markets.

Finally, not only are more foreign and U.S. tourists traveling to the state, but more California residents are visiting destinations close to home, rather than venturing further afield. Families are taking long weekends, rather than long vacations. According to the Harris Poll, only 14% of Americans planned to take a two week vacation in 2007, down from 16% in 2006, continuing a trend that began in the 1970s.

However, the trend toward shorter and fewer vacations doesn’t bode well for the hospitality industry. The United States is becoming a “no-vacation nation,” where one in four private-sector workers receive no paid vacation and no paid holidays, according to a 2007 report by the Center for Economic and Policy Research.

According to report author John Schmitt, “The United States is the only advanced economy in the world that does not guarantee its workers paid vacation days and paid holidays.”

The report found that lower wage and part-time employees, who are disproportionately found in the service industry jobs, are the ones least likely to receive paid leaves. By contrast, European workers are legally guaranteed at least 20 paid vacation days per year, with 25 and even 30 or more days common in some countries. The gap between paid time off in the United States and the rest of the world is even larger when legal holidays are included. The United States does not guarantee any paid holidays, but most developed countries provide between 5 and 13 per year, in addition to paid vacation days.

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[1] California Travel and Tourism Commission research

[2] California Travel Impacts by County, 1992-2007 (PDF, 2.4 MB)

[3] Center for Economic Policy Research