September 2026

Love Catalina Island Tourism Authority

Monthly Tourism Statistics Report — Prepared October 25, 2026

All Arrivals

September visitation went up +8.3% year-over-year with 128,637 total arrivals.

September's total arrival count was above the three, five and ten-year averages by 18.7%, 27.1% and 31.7% respectively (table below). Cross Channel counts above include 3,494 arrivals at Two Harbors this year and 2,547 last year.

Previous tracking (below) for the month of September offers comparisons year-over-year by segment since 2012.

September 2026 had the highest number of total visitor arrivals ever tracked for the month @ 128,637.

September 2020 had the lowest number of total visitor arrivals @ 71,078.

Arrivals by Sea

Passengers arriving by sea in September totaled 126,102, up +8.5% for the month compared to last year (table below).

Cross Channel passenger counts were up +9.5%, an increase of 6,588 people. Cross Channel counts shown include arrivals at Two Harbors (3,494 in September 2026 vs. 2,547 in 2025).

1995 had the highest volume of Cross Channel passengers for the month on record @ 78,320. *

2008 had the lowest volume for the month on record @ 44,553 passengers. *

*Cross Channel passenger tracking dates to 1989; highest and lowest figures reflect the full record. Averages and the historical table above use 2012 forward.

September Cross Channel passenger counts were above the three, five and ten-year averages at 7.4%, 7.4% and 10.6% respectively.

Cross Channel passengers made up 59.31% of total monthly arrivals.

Cruise passenger counts totaled 43,028, up from 38,286 last year by 12.4%.

September 2026 had the highest Cruise passenger volume for the month on record 43,028. *

2020 had the lowest Cruise passenger volume for the month on record @ 0.*

*Cruise passenger tracking dates to 1990; highest and lowest figures reflect the full record.

September Cruise passenger counts were above the three, five and ten-year averages of 60.5%, 122.9% and 148.3% respectively.

Cruise passengers made up 33.45% of total monthly arrivals.

Private Boater passenger counts totaled 6,784, down 17.5% from last year's 8,220.

2020 had the highest passenger volume for the month @ 8,832.

2026 had the lowest passenger volume for the month @ 6,784.

September Private Boater passenger counts were below the three, five and ten-year averages at 17.2%, 16.1% and 16.7% respectively.

Private Boaters made up 5.27% of total arrivals.

Vessel counts for the month, with multi-year comparisons, are shown in the table below.

September 2026's number of Vessels Anchored was 169, up +196.5% from 2025's 57.

2024 had the highest number of Vessels Anchored for the month @ 377.

2025 had the lowest number of Vessels Anchored @ 57.

September's Anchored Vessels count was above the ten-year average by 2.5%, and below the three and five-year averages by 22.4% and 9.2% respectively.

September's number of Vessels on Moorings was 1,696, down 17.5% from 2025's 2,055.

2020 had the highest number of Vessels on Moorings @ 2,208.

2026 had the lowest number of Vessels on Moorings @ 1,696.

September's Vessels Moored count was below the three, five and ten-year averages by 17.2%, 16.1% and 16.7% respectively.

The number of cruise ships calling on Avalon in September was 11, matching last year's 11.

2019, 2025 and 2026 had the highest number of ships calling @ 11 (since 2016).

2020 was the lowest, with 0 ships calling.

September typically has 6.9 ships call (10-year average, excluding this year).

Arrivals by Air

Combined in-bound air passenger counts for September totaled 2,535, down 1.1% from 2,562 in 2025 (table below).

Private Aircraft passengers (Airport in the Sky) totaled 1,179, down 9.7% vs. last year's total of 1,305.

2012 had the highest volume for the month @ 2,621.

2023 had the lowest volume for the month @ 996.

September's Private Aircraft passenger count was above the three-year average by 0.1%, and below the five and ten-year averages by 16.0% and 20.9% respectively.

Private Aircraft passengers made up 0.92% of total monthly arrivals.

Private Aircraft overnight stays at Airport in the Sky totaled 48 in September, up +128.6% vs. 21 in 2025.

Overnight stays were above the three-year average by 111.8%, and below the five-year average by 7.3%.

Helicopter passenger counts totaled 1,356, up +7.9% year-over-year from 1,257 in 2025.

2015 had the highest volume for the month @ 2,249.

2023 had the lowest volume for the month @ 861.

Helicopter passenger counts were above the three and five-year averages by 21.9% and 1.6% respectively, and below the ten-year average by 19.4%.

Helicopter passengers made up 1.05% of total monthly arrivals.

Lodging

From Smith Travel and AirDNA

Hotels and Short-Term Rentals Occupancy

Hotel Occupancy in September was +12.5% @ 79.3% vs. 70.5% in 2025, according to Smith Travel.

Hotel Occupancy was above the three, five and ten-year averages, by 11.3%, 8.4% and 7.0% respectively.

2017 had the highest Hotel Occupancy for the month @ 81.3%.

2015 had the lowest Hotel Occupancy for the month @ 66.1%.

Catalina's Short-Term Rental Occupancy for September was up +2.3% @ 49.1% vs. 48.0% in 2025, according to AirDNA.

Short-Term Rental Occupancy was below the three, five and ten-year averages by 7.4%, 14.7% and 0.2% respectively.

2022 had the highest Short-Term Rental Occupancy for the month @ 66.0%.

2018 had the lowest Short-Term Rental Occupancy for the month @ 28.0%.

Statewide and nationwide (Visit California) lodging comparisons for September were not available at the time of this report.

Competing Destination Occupancies

Hotel Occupancy was higher than Catalina's in Huntington Beach and San Francisco; lower than Catalina's in Palm Springs, Santa Barbara, San Diego, Newport Beach, Monterey, Anaheim and Santa Monica/Marina del Rey.

Short-Term Rental Occupancy was higher than Catalina's in Santa Barbara, San Diego, Newport Beach, Huntington Beach, Monterey, Anaheim, San Francisco and Santa Monica/Marina del Rey; lower than Catalina's in Palm Springs.

Hotel and Short-Term Rental Average Daily Rate

Hotel Average Daily Rate was up +16.1% @ $281.74 vs. $242.69 in 2025.

Short-Term Rental Average Daily Rate was down by 2.3% @ $756 vs. $774 in 2025.

Hotel and Short-Term Rental Revenue Per Available Room

Hotel Revenue Per Available Room was up +30.5% @ $223.28 vs. $171.06 in 2025.

Short-Term Rental Revenue Per Available Room was down 11.5% @ $368 vs. $416 in 2025.

Visitor & Member Services

Member Mixer attendance for September was up +14.9% year-over-year @ 77 vs. 67 in 2025, and above the three-year average by 4.5%.

Phone Calls for the month were up +0.8% year-over-year @ 513 vs. 509 in 2025.

Calls were above the three-year average by 8.8%, and below the five and ten-year averages by 10.9% and 39.2% respectively.

2010 had the highest number of calls @ 1,854.

2023 had the lowest number @ 418.

Increased use of online and mobile self-help tools for reservations and research are believed to be a driving factor behind the long-term decline in call volume.

Walk-ins for the month were up +2.0% year-over-year @ 2,508 vs. 2,458 in 2025.

Walk-ins were above the three and five-year averages by 3.0% and 5.2% respectively, and below the ten-year average by 16.1%.

2018 had the highest volume of walk-ins for the month @ 5,139.

2020 had the lowest volume for the month @ 1,003.

Email inquiries totaled 63, up +16.7% vs. 54 in 2025, and below the three-year average by 1.0%.

LoveCatalina.com

September's LoveCatalina.com total website traffic was up +24.6% year-over-year 112,663 vs. 90,405 in 2025.

September's total website users were above the three, five and ten-year averages by 12.9%, 20.1% and 20.7% respectively.

Book Direct lodging referrals were down 64.8% year-over-year @ 3,319 vs. 9,433 in 2025.

Book Direct lodging searches were down 60.1% @ 6,965 vs. 17,437 in 2025.

Book Direct estimated bookings and revenue for September are unavailable currently (September 2025: 314 bookings / $182,745; September 2024: 287 bookings / $162,694).

Google Business Profile calls for September totaled 44, up +12.8% vs. 39 in 2025.

Google Business Profile direction requests for September totaled 65, down 41.4% vs. 111 in 2025.

Google Business Profile website clicks for September totaled 109, down 38.4% vs. 177 in 2025.

Google Business Profile views for September totaled 4,658, down 3.9% vs. 4,845 in 2025.

Google Business Profile searches for September totaled 915, up +24.8% vs. 733 in 2025.

Note: Changes to Book Direct in prior years shifted some traffic between referrals and searches, and evolving Google/AI search behavior continues to affect traditional website traffic measurement.

Note: September Book Direct referrals (3,319) and searches (6,965) are the lowest September figures in the source data by a wide margin (previous September lows: 7,101 referrals in 2023 and 10,129 searches in 2023) and are less than half of this year's own August levels; the figures may reflect a partial-month data pull or a tracking change and should be verified before they are shared widely.

Visitor Guides & Newsletters

Go California printed guide orders totaled 227, down from 271 in 2025.

Mail House fulfillment was 0 vs. 0 in 2025.

Online guide downloads were 227 vs. 389 in 2025.

Printed visitor guide orders on LoveCatalina.com were 202 vs. 339 last year.

Visitor guides distributed at trade shows were 0 vs. 0 last year. Note: no trade shows were attended this month.

Visitor Center guide deliveries totaled 240 vs. 720 last year.

Certified Folder rack distribution totaled 0 guides vs. 0 in 2025; rack distribution is reported separately and not included in the demand total below.

Total visitor guide demand across all channels (Go California, Mail House, online downloads, LoveCatalina.com print orders, trade shows and the Visitor Center) was 896 in September, down 47.9% from 1,719 in 2025, and -42.6% vs. the three-year average.

New e-newsletter subscribers in September totaled 85, down 37.0% from 135 last year.

New subscribers for the month were below the three and five-year averages of 139 and 133.

Social Media

Cumulative totals by platform as of September, with year-over-year and three/five-year average comparisons.

Facebook followers are up year-over-year by 8.5% (157,915 vs. 145,546).

Instagram followers are up year-over-year by 16.9% (85,340 vs. 73,018).

LinkedIn followers are up year-over-year by 13.4% (676 vs. 596).

TikTok followers are up year-over-year by 98.8% (14,246 vs. 7,167).

Threads followers are up year-over-year by 4.8% (13,100 vs. 12,500).

X followers are down year-over-year by 1.7% (4,414 vs. 4,491).

Weather

High, low, rain days and rainfall for September (2020-2026; 2022 excluded, no data recorded) are shown below. Measures are taken at Avalon Harbor.

Daytime highs averaged 78 degrees in September, up from 68 degrees in September 2025 — the warmest September average high in the data tracked.

Overnight lows averaged 66 degrees, up from 64 degrees in September 2025 — tying 2023 for the warmest September overnight low in the data tracked.

September 2026 recorded 0 rain day(s), down from 1 in 2025.

September 2026 recorded 0.00 inches of rain, down from 0.05 in 2025.

There were 3 weather warnings issued in September 2026, down from 4 in 2025.

Year-to-Date and Historical Arrivals

2026 year-to-date total visitation (Jan-Sep) was 1,081,299, up +11.4% from 970,285 over the same period in 2025 (table below) — the highest Jan-Sep total ever tracked.

Year-to-date arrivals were above the three, five and ten-year averages by 18.4%, 29.5% and 36.5% respectively.

Year-to-Date Lodging

Hotel and Short-Term Rental Occupancy from Smith Travel, AirDNA

Hotel Occupancy year-to-date was up +9.4% @ 73.3% vs. 67.0% tracked in 2025.

Hotel Occupancy was year-to-date above the three, five and ten-year averages by 10.7%, 10.0% and 7.9% respectively.

Short-Term Rental Occupancy year-to-date 2026 was 49.8%, essentially even with 2025 (49.8%).

Short-Term Rental Occupancy year-to-date was above the ten-year average by 4.2%, and below the three and five-year averages by 4.9% and 11.2% respectively.

Year-to-Date Visitor & Member Services

The number of Mixer attendees year-to-date was down by 17.3% (424 vs. 513), partly reflecting February's mixer cancellation.

Note: The February 2026 Mixer was canceled; no Mixer is held in August.

The number of Phone Calls year-to-date was up +5.7% @ 4,673 vs. 4,421 in 2025.

The number of Visitor Center Walk-Ins year-to-date was up +2.4% @ 19,097 vs. 18,651 in 2025.

Email inquiries were up +0.3% @ 583 vs. 581 in 2025.

Combined visitor guide distribution year-to-date (Go California, Mail House, online downloads, LoveCatalina.com print orders, trade shows, Visitor Center and Certified Folder racks) totaled 51,022, up +8.5% vs. 47,031 in 2025, and above the three-year average of 50,645 by 0.7%.

Excluding Certified Folder rack distribution (24,480 year-to-date vs. 22,848 in 2025), year-to-date visitor guide demand across all other channels was 26,542, up +9.8% vs. 24,183 in 2025.

Year-to-Date LoveCatalina.com

Year-to-date total website users were up +13.1% @ 860,018 vs. 760,300 in 2025.

Year-to-date Book Direct referrals were down 20.4% @ 90,198 vs. 113,376 in 2025.

Book Direct lodging searches were down 19.0% year-to-date @ 170,568 vs. 210,538 in 2025.

Book Direct estimated bookings year-to-date through August (September unavailable at this time) totaled 3,952 with estimated booking revenue of $2,760,714, vs. 2,902 bookings and $1,622,719 for Jan-Aug 2024 (2025 monthly estimates are irregular, with very low May/July and very high June/August values, so 2024 is used for comparison).

Note: Google's search algorithm changes and growing AI-assisted search usage are believed to be affecting traditional website traffic measurement year-over-year; newer engagement metrics do not yet have enough history for multi-year comparison.

Year-to-Date Weather

Multi-year weather comparisons for January-September are shown below. Measures are taken at Avalon Harbor.

Average daytime high temperature January-September 2026 was 70.0 degrees vs. 65.4 degrees over the same period in 2025, up +7.0%.

Average overnight low temperature January-September 2026 was 58.9 degrees vs. 56.6 degrees in 2025, up +4.1%.

Total rain days January-September 2026 was 12 vs. 15 in 2025, down 20.0%.

Total rainfall January-September 2026 was 3.23 inches vs. 4.59 inches in 2025, down 29.6%.

Total weather warnings January-September 2026 was 39 vs. 53 in 2025, down 26.4%.

Notes on Data Sources

Arrivals averages, totals and historical tables (Cross Channel, Cruise, Private Boat, Private Aircraft, Helicopter, vessel counts) use data from 2012 forward, per current reporting standards. Tracking for Cross Channel (from 1989) and Cruise (from 1990) passengers predates 2012; the highest and lowest figures cited for those two segments reflect the full record and are marked with an asterisk (*).

All three/five/ten-year averages in this report exclude the current year (2026): three-year = 2023-2025, five-year = 2021-2025, ten-year = 2016-2025, using the years with recorded data for each measure (website, Book Direct and newsletter history begins in 2019, so their "10 Yr" figures average 2019-2025).

Private Boat passengers are calculated as Vessels Moored x 4, consistent with the source sheet (September 2026: 1,696 moored vessels x 4 = 6,784).

Revisions to August 2026 in the updated source sheet: Short-Term Rental ADR now reads $837 (previously $380) and STR RevPAR $550 (previously $245), resolving the issue flagged in the August report; STR Occupancy now reads 65.74%; Google Business Profile searches now read 1,050 (previously a carry-forward of July's 1,474); and a Visitor Center guide delivery of 240 is now recorded for August. Year-to-date figures in this report use the updated sheet values.

Book Direct estimated bookings and revenue for September 2026 are unavailable at this time; year-to-date Book Direct booking figures run through August.

Website users combine Universal Analytics (through June 2022) and GA4 (July 2022 forward).

Statewide and nationwide Visit California comparisons were not available at the time of this report and have been omitted.