$4.7 million. That’s what Eureka collected in transient occupancy tax revenue in 2025, according to preliminary numbers released by the city finance department this week. The figure represents a 12 percent increase over 2024 and the highest annual total since the pre-pandemic peak of $4.9 million in 2019.

Hotel occupancy in the greater Eureka area averaged 68 percent across the year, up from 63 percent in 2024. Summer months (June through September) ran above 80 percent, with August hitting 89 percent, a number that hasn’t been reached since 2018.

The recovery has been slow. It has also been real.

What’s driving it

Three factors, roughly in order of impact.

First, the regional marketing push. The Humboldt County Visitors Bureau spent $1.2 million on digital advertising in 2025, nearly double its 2023 budget. The campaign targeted the Bay Area and Pacific Northwest markets with outdoor recreation and redwoods messaging. Website traffic to the bureau’s portal increased 34 percent year over year.

Second, cannabis tourism. The bureau still doesn’t track cannabis-specific visitor spending (nobody does, reliably), but anecdotal signals are strong. Three licensed cannabis lounges opened in the county in 2025. Farm tours through licensed cultivators drew an estimated 8,000 visitors between May and October, based on booking data from two tour operators.

“People come for the redwoods and stay for the cannabis,” said Old Town merchant Rachel Simms, who runs a gift shop on Second Street. “I’m not complaining. They buy things.”

Third, the return of international visitors. Eureka’s proximity to Redwood National and State Parks makes it a stop on the Northern California road trip circuit popular with European and Asian tourists. International visitor numbers at the parks rebounded to 2019 levels in 2025, per National Park Service data.

Old Town momentum

The Old Town district, Eureka’s primary tourist corridor, saw four new retail openings in 2025 and zero closures. That’s the first year with no net retail loss in Old Town since 2017.

Revenue per available room (RevPAR) at Eureka hotels is tracking at $87, up from $79 in 2024. That number still lags the statewide average of $112, but the gap is narrowing.

Restaurant spending tells a similar story. Sales tax revenue from food service establishments in Eureka increased 9 percent in 2025. The city’s total sales tax take was $12.3 million, up from $11.6 million the prior year.

The caveats

Not everything is up and to the right.

Tourism spending remains heavily seasonal. The October-through-March period accounts for only 28 percent of annual TOT revenue. Eureka hasn’t cracked the off-season problem, and winter occupancy rates still hover around 45 percent.

The cannabis tourism market is also fragile. Regulatory uncertainty at the state level (particularly around consumption lounges and on-site sales) could freeze investment. Two of the three lounges that opened in 2025 operate under temporary use permits that expire in 2027.

And the housing question persists. Tourism-driven demand for short-term rentals continues to tighten the housing market. The city currently has 187 active short-term rental permits, up from 142 in 2023. Each permitted rental is, by definition, a unit not available for long-term housing.

“We want the visitors. We need the housing,” said Eureka city councilmember Dan Osgood. “Figuring out how to have both is the project of the next five years.”

Looking ahead

The Visitors Bureau is projecting 2026 TOT revenue of $5.1 million, which would finally surpass the 2019 mark. That forecast assumes continued growth in summer occupancy and a modest improvement in shoulder season numbers.

The county is also preparing a cannabis tourism economic impact study, expected to publish in Q3. It will be the first formal attempt to quantify what the cannabis industry contributes to the visitor economy.

For now, the numbers point in the right direction. Whether they keep pointing that way depends on factors largely outside Eureka’s control: gas prices, airline routes to Arcata-Eureka Airport, wildfire smoke, and the regulatory environment in Sacramento.

$4.7 million is a milestone. It is not a guarantee.