Summer Travel Showed Strong Signs But Weather Impacts Detoured Some Plans

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) - The summer travel season is sometimes considered over at the end of Labor Day weekend, even though the calendar doesn't start fall until later this month.

Santa Barbara and the Central Coast have seen some significant spikes in travelers this summer so far, mainly from the greater Los Angeles area.

Interviews with travelers show there is still a group that is holding their money tight due to lingering inflation and higher airfares.

Local train station traffic on the AMTRAK Pacfic Surfliner had reports of packed train cars on weekends for weeks.   

There are often many "day trippers" from Los Angeles to and from Santa Barbara.

Travelers trying to maximize their dollars and possibly save for a holiday trip have stayed closer to home with friends or had staycations or "backyard" travel with a regional distance of under 300 miles from home.

Some heat waves in Europe have reportedly led to a change in plans for about 20 percent of travelers who have moved their vacations to another date when the weather is cooler in the fall.

Santa Barbara collected $4.7 Million in Transient Occupancy Taxes (TOT) for July 2026, the first month in the City's fiscal year.

Of that, approximately $4.1 Million came from hotels and $600,000 from short-term rentals.

Year to date, total TOT revenues are coming in 9.7 percent above budget.

(More details, photos and video will be added here later today.)