38.2%.

That’s Humboldt County’s hotel occupancy rate for February, according to data released this week by the Redwood Coast Tourism Board. It’s down from 43.7% in February 2025 and 47.1% in February 2024. The pre-pandemic February average (2017 to 2019) was 51.3%.

The decline isn’t dramatic in any single year. But the trend line tells a story: winter tourism in Humboldt County has been softening steadily for three years, and nobody has figured out how to reverse it.

The numbers in context

Average daily room rate held relatively steady at $128, compared to $131 last February. Revenue per available room (RevPAR), the metric hoteliers watch most closely, dropped to $48.90 from $57.25 a year ago. That’s a 14.6% decline.

The pain is not evenly distributed. Properties along the coast, particularly in Trinidad and the stretch north of Arcata, reported occupancy closer to 45%. Eureka’s downtown hotels ran closer to 32%. Motels along the southern 101 corridor near Fortuna and Rio Dell fared worst, with some reporting sub-25% occupancy for the month.

“February is always slow. That’s not new,” said Karen Suiker, executive director of the Redwood Coast Tourism Board. “What’s new is that the recovery bounce we saw in 2022 and 2023 has completely flattened. We’re not climbing anymore. We’re sliding.”

What’s driving the decline

Three factors converge. First, gas prices. The average cost of a gallon of regular in California hit $5.18 in February, up from $4.87 a year ago. Humboldt County’s primary tourism market, the Bay Area, is a roughly four-hour drive. At current fuel costs, a round trip runs over $80 for a typical sedan. That adds meaningful friction for weekend getaways.

Second, the Redwoods. Or rather, the marketing of the Redwoods. The tourism board’s winter campaign budget was cut by $40,000 for fiscal year 2025-2026 after the county redirected transient occupancy tax revenue toward road repairs. Suiker said the digital ad spend that drives Bay Area awareness was “effectively halved” compared to two years ago.

Third, competition. Mendocino County launched an aggressive winter campaign last fall promoting storm-watching packages and culinary tourism. Humboldt hasn’t matched that messaging.

“Mendocino is eating our lunch on the experiential side,” Suiker said. “They’re packaging the exact same coastal winter experience and spending more to tell people about it.”

Cannabis tourism, still nascent

The county’s cannabis industry, often cited as a potential tourism driver, has not produced the visitor traffic that boosters predicted. Humboldt’s farm-to-consumer cannabis tourism ordinance, passed in 2024, allows licensed farms to host visitors for on-site experiences. But only seven farms have obtained the required permits, and most are seasonal operations that close in winter.

“We’re still waiting for the dispensary-plus-tour model to take off,” Suiker said. “It will. But it hasn’t yet.”

What happens next

The tourism board plans to present a revised marketing strategy to the Board of Supervisors in April. Suiker said the proposal will include a request to restore the digital ad budget and a pitch for a spring wildflower campaign targeting Southern California markets.

Humboldt’s tourism sector employs an estimated 4,200 people, roughly 7% of the county’s workforce. Accommodation and food services generated $312 million in economic activity in 2025, down from $338 million in 2023.

The spring and summer months typically push occupancy above 70%, and early booking data for June and July looks “normal,” according to Suiker. But the winter gap is widening, and for the 1,400-plus hotel and motel rooms in the county, empty beds from November through March are revenue that never comes back.