Fewer visitors came to Catalina in December 2020 than in December 2019, according to numbers recently released by Love Catalina Island. The non-profit group, also known as the Catalina Island Tourism Authority, attributed the 78.2% decline for in-bound traffic to pandemic-related restrictions on travel and available activities.
“December 2020, reflected the ongoing impacts of COVID-19. Holiday travel was greatly reduced due to travel restrictions and lack of available activities and attractions due to temporary closures. The annual New Year’s Eve Gala was not held this year, further impacting December Visitation,” according to lovecatalina.com.
December 2020, reflected the ongoing impacts of COVID-19. Holiday travel was greatly reduced due to travel restrictions and lack of available activities and attractions due to temporary closures.
The end of year numbers were also negative.
“Total arrivals calendar year-end was down 50.7% from last year @ 503,210 vs. 1,021,177 visitors,” according to lovecatalina.com.
Private boaters brought the one bright spot in the December 2020 visitor statistics.
“Private boater passenger counts were up year-over-year by 29.9% @ 1,268,” according to lovecatalina.com.
“December’s total in-bound passengers=12,259, down 78.2% from last year @ 56,595. December 2020 was below the three-year average of 42,580 by 71%. December was below the five-year average of 50,142 by 75.4% and the ten-year average of 46,607 by 73.5%,” according to lovecatalina.com.
“Passengers arriving by sea, including private boaters, was 11,151 for the month of December, down 79.4% from 54,184 last year,” according to lovecatalina.com.
“December Cross Channel passenger counts were down 65.2% year-over-year @ 9,883,” according to lovecatalina.com.
And, of course, there were no cruise ship visits in December. Before the pandemic began in early 2020, cruise ships were a primary off-season source of passengers—and visitor dollars.
