August 2026

Love Catalina Island Tourism Authority

Monthly Tourism Statistics Report — Prepared September 23, 2026

All Arrivals

August visitation up +5.7% year-over-year with 164,221 total arrivals.

August's total arrival count was above the three, five and ten-year averages by 14.5%, 20.7% and 26.5% respectively (table below). Cross Channel counts above include 4,928 arrivals at Two Harbors this year and 5,128 last year.

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

August 2026 had the highest number of total visitor arrivals ever tracked for the month @ 164,221.

August 2020 had the lowest number of total visitor arrivals @ 78,958.

Arrivals by Sea

Passengers arriving by sea in August totaled 160,073, up +5.6% for the month compared to last year (table below).

Cross Channel passenger counts were up +0.6%, an increase of 686 people. Cross Channel counts shown include arrivals at Two Harbors (4,928 in August 2026 vs. 5,128 in 2025).

2026 had the highest volume of Cross Channel passengers for the month since 2012 @ 107,331.

2020 had the lowest volume for the month @ 64,683 passengers.

August Cross Channel passenger counts were above the three, five and ten-year averages by 8.2%, 10.7% and 14.6% respectively.

Cross Channel passengers made up 65.36% of total monthly arrivals.

Cruise passenger counts totaled 43,334, up from 35,078 last year by 23.5%.

August 2026 had the highest Cruise passenger volume for the month since 2012 @ 43,334.

2020 and 2021 had the lowest Cruise passenger volume for the month @ 0.

August Cruise passenger counts were above the three, five and ten-year averages by 39.9%, 70.9% and 96.4% respectively.

Cruise passengers made up 26.39% of total monthly arrivals.

Private Boater passenger counts totaled 9,408, down 4.4% from last year's 9,844.

2019 had the highest passenger volume for the month @ 10,612.

2015 had the lowest passenger volume for the month @ 8,424.

August Private Boater passenger counts were below the three, five and ten-year averages by 1.5%, 4.4% and 5.6% respectively.

Private Boaters made up 5.73% of total arrivals.

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

August 2026's number of Vessels Anchored was 146, up +43.1% from 2025's 102.

2017 had the highest number of Vessels Anchored for the month @ 259.

2025 had the lowest number of Vessels Anchored @ 102.

August's Anchored Vessels count was below the three, five and ten-year averages by 23.2%, 10.0% and 11.9% respectively.

August's number of Vessels on Moorings was 2,352, down 4.4% from 2025's 2,461.

2019 had the highest number of Vessels on Moorings @ 2,653.

2015 had the lowest number of Vessels on Moorings @ 2,106.

August's Vessels Moored count was below the three, five and ten-year averages by 1.5%, 4.4% and 5.6% respectively.

The number of cruise ships calling on Avalon in August was 10, up from 9 last year.

2016, 2018, 2022 and 2026 had the highest number of ships calling @ 10 (since 2016).

2020 and 2021 had the lowest, with 0 ships calling.

August typically has 7.1 ships call (10-year average, excluding this year).

Arrivals by Air

Combined in-bound air passenger counts for August totaled 4,148, up +7.3% from 3,865 in 2025 (table below).

Private Aircraft passengers (Airport in the Sky) totaled 2,085, up +1.8% vs. last year's total of 2,049.

2008 had the highest volume for the month @ 2,644.

2017 had the lowest volume for the month @ 1,575.

August's Private Aircraft passenger count was above the ten-year average by 0.3%, and below the three and five-year averages by 1.4% and 0.4% respectively.

Private Aircraft passengers made up 1.27% of total monthly arrivals.

Private Aircraft overnight stays at Airport in the Sky totaled 69 in August, up +56.8% vs. 44 in 2025, and above the three and five-year averages by 91.7% and 34.2% respectively.

Helicopter passenger counts totaled 2,063, up +13.6% year-over-year from 1,816 in 2025.

2015 had the highest volume for the month @ 2,749.

2023 had the lowest volume for the month @ 1,413.

Helicopter passenger counts were above the three, five and ten-year averages by 28.9%, 15.5% and 0.4% respectively.

Helicopter passengers made up 1.26% of total monthly arrivals.

Lodging

From Smith Travel and AirDNA

Hotels and Short-Term Rentals Occupancy

Hotel Occupancy in August was up +4.7% @ 81.8% vs. 78.1% in 2025, according to Smith Travel.

Hotel Occupancy was above the three, five and ten-year averages by 7.4%, 5.2% and 1.4% respectively.

2017 and 2018 had the highest Hotel Occupancy for the month @ 86.9%.

2023 had the lowest Hotel Occupancy for the month @ 72.4%.

Catalina's Short-Term Rental Occupancy for August was down 6.1% @ 65.7% vs. 70.0% in 2025, according to AirDNA.

Short-Term Rental Occupancy was above the ten-year average by 5.7%, and below the three and five-year averages by 7.0% and 9.9% respectively.

2021 had the highest Short-Term Rental Occupancy for the month @ 78.0%.

2018 had the lowest Short-Term Rental Occupancy for the month @ 32.8%.

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

Competing Destination Occupancies

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

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

Hotel and Short-Term Rental Average Daily Rate

Hotel Average Daily Rate was up +8.2% @ $289.16 vs. $267.25 in 2025.

Short-Term Rental Average Daily Rate was down by 2.9% @ $837 vs. $862 in 2025.

Hotel and Short-Term Rental Revenue Per Available Room

Hotel Revenue Per Available Room was up +10.2% @ $236.52 vs. $214.63 in 2025.

Short-Term Rental Revenue Per Available Room was down 8.9% @ $550 vs. $604 in 2025.

Visitor & Member Services

No Member Mixer is held in August (consistent with prior years), so there is no August Mixer attendance to report.

Phone Calls for the month were up +17.7% year-over-year @ 726 vs. 617 in 2025.

Calls were above the three and five-year averages by 12.2% and 1.6% respectively, and below the ten-year average by 32.9%.

2008 had the highest number of calls @ 2,942.

2024 had the lowest number @ 554.

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 +2.8% year-over-year @ 2,898 vs. 2,818 in 2025.

Walk-ins were below the three, five and ten-year averages by 6.9%, 14.0% and 27.7% respectively.

2016 had the highest volume of walk-ins for the month @ 6,431.

2020 had the lowest volume for the month @ 578.

Email inquiries totaled 61, up +7.0% vs. 57 in 2025, and below the three-year average by 14.1%.

LoveCatalina.com

August's LoveCatalina.com total website traffic was up +8.8% year-over-year @ 107,716 vs. 99,005 in 2025.

August's total website users was above the three, five and ten-year averages by 1.6%, 7.1% and 3.7% respectively.

Book Direct lodging referrals were down 36.4% year-over-year @ 9,564 vs. 15,039 in 2025.

Book Direct lodging searches were down 39.4% @ 17,178 vs. 28,364 in 2025.

Book Direct estimated bookings for August totaled 497 with an estimated average spend of $760 and estimated booking revenue of $378,464, vs. 2,286 bookings and $1,510,606 in 2025.

Note: 2025 monthly Book Direct booking estimates in the source sheet are irregular (e.g., very low May/July and very high June/August), so year-over-year revenue comparisons should be read with caution; August 2024 was 552 bookings / $291,538.

Google Business Profile calls for August totaled 79, up +6.8% vs. 74 in 2025.

Google Business Profile direction requests for August totaled 92, down 19.3% vs. 114 in 2025.

Google Business Profile website clicks for August totaled 120, down 45.0% vs. 218 in 2025.

Google Business Profile views for August totaled 5,919, down 7.2% vs. 6,378 in 2025.

Google Business Profile searches totaled 1,050, down 22.9% vs. 1,362 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.

Visitor Guides & Newsletters

Go California printed guide orders totaled 245, down from 259 in 2025.

Mail House fulfillment was 40 vs. 0 in 2025 (40 guides to DayTripper El Cajon).

Online guide downloads were 302 vs. 578 in 2025.

Printed visitor guide orders on LoveCatalina.com were 325 vs. 523 last year.

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

Visitor guides delivered to the Visitor Center were 240 vs. 720 last year.

Certified Folder rack distribution totaled 8,160 guides (2 pallets requested 8/19) 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 1,152 in August, down 44.6% from 2,080 in 2025, and -45.8% vs. the three-year average.

New e-newsletter subscribers in August totaled 110, down 32.9% from 164 last year.

New subscribers for the month were below the three and five-year averages of 181 and 162.

Social Media

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

Facebook followers are up year-over-year by 8.6% (157,652 vs. 145,182).

Instagram followers are up year-over-year by 16.2% (84,378 vs. 72,631).

LinkedIn followers are up year-over-year by 14.6% (675 vs. 589).

TikTok followers are up year-over-year by 96.7% (14,036 vs. 7,137).

Threads followers are up year-over-year by 5.6% (13,100 vs. 12,400).

X followers are down year-over-year by 1.9% (4,415 vs. 4,502).

Weather

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

Daytime highs averaged 75 degrees in August, up from 73 degrees in August 2025 — the warmest August average high in the data tracked.

Overnight lows averaged 67 degrees, up from 64 degrees in August 2025 — the warmest August overnight low in the data tracked.

August 2026 recorded 0 rain day(s), matching 0 in 2025.

August 2026 recorded 0.00 inches of rain, matching 0.00 in 2025.

There were 0 weather warnings issued in August 2026, matching 0 in 2025.

Year-to-Date and Historical Arrivals

2026 year-to-date total visitation (Jan-Aug) was 952,662, up +11.9% from 851,515 over the same period in 2025 (table below) — the highest Jan-Aug total ever tracked.

Year-to-date arrivals were above the three, five and ten-year averages by 18.4%, 29.9% and 37.2% respectively.

Year-to-Date Lodging

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

Hotel Occupancy year-to-date was up +9.0% @ 72.6% vs. 66.6% tracked in 2025.

Hotel Occupancy year-to-date was above the three, five and ten-year averages by 10.7%, 10.3% and 8.0% respectively.

Short-Term Rental Occupancy year-to-date 2026 was 49.9%, down 0.3% from 2025 which was 50.1%.

Year-to-Date Visitor & Member Services

The number of Mixer attendees year-to-date was down by 22.2% (347 vs. 446), 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 +6.3% @ 4,160 vs. 3,912 in 2025.

The number of Visitor Center Walk-Ins year-to-date was up +2.4% @ 16,589 vs. 16,193 in 2025.

Email inquiries year-to-date were down 1.3% @ 520 vs. 527 in 2025.

Year-to-Date LoveCatalina.com

Year-to-date total website users were up +11.6% @ 747,355 vs. 669,895 in 2025.

Year-to-date Book Direct referrals were down 16.4% @ 86,879 vs. 103,943 in 2025.

Book Direct lodging searches were down 15.3% year-to-date @ 163,603 vs. 193,101 in 2025.

Book Direct estimated bookings year-to-date 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; see note above).

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-August are shown below. Measures are taken at Avalon Harbor.

Average daytime high temperature January-August 2026 was 69.0 degrees vs. 65.1 degrees over the same period in 2025, up +6.0%.

Average overnight low temperature January-August 2026 was 58.0 degrees vs. 55.6 degrees in 2025, up +4.3%.

Total rain days January-August 2026 were 12 vs. 14 in 2025, down 14.3%.

Total rainfall January-August 2026 was 3.23 inches vs. 4.54 inches in 2025, down 28.9%.

Total weather warnings January-August 2026 were 36 vs. 49 in 2025, down 26.5%.

Notes on Data Sources

Arrivals figures (Cross Channel, Cruise, Private Boat, Private Aircraft, Helicopter, vessel counts) reflect data from 2012 forward only, per current reporting standards.

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. The Private Boat Passengers tab still shows 9,844 for August 2026 (the August 2025 value); this report uses 2,352 moored vessels x 4 = 9,408.

Helicopter passengers for July 2026 now read 1,921 in the source sheet (1,340 was reported in the July report), which raises July total arrivals to 169,438; year-to-date figures here use the updated sheet values.

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.

Figures reflect the corrected August 2026 data file (CatalinaData2 August final), which updated Short-Term Rental ADR and RevPAR, Google Business Profile searches and Visitor Center guide deliveries for August.