As California reopens, tourism can paved the way

On Tuesday, California’s tourism industry will be 11 times worse than the setback after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

Make no mistake, the tourism industry of the Golden State is roaring back, is ready to recapture the tourism market share that has been lost to other states and to establish itself as a reliable economic engine and job producer.

All Californians have an interest in his speedy recovery, and all Californians can help speed it up.

California’s travel and hospitality industry needs to recover quickly to restore hundreds of thousands of jobs and lead the recovery of the Golden State’s economy.

Because of this, I was a key contributor to Senator Mike McGuire’s efforts to provide stimulus funding for Visit California’s tourism marketing program. In addition to the millions the tourism industry spends on marketing, California worked after 9/11, especially as other states spend to steal our market share.

Visit California’s latest forecast, in partnership with Tourism Economics, shows a recovery from the pandemic that could take up to four more years.

Californians can aid faster economic recovery with a modern act of patriotism. They can vacation in their home state this summer and fall to support other Californians and the small businesses that employ them.

I know they can because they have done it before. Californians have stepped up during this pandemic – and are sacrificing for public health amid economic hardship for many. The result? California has the lowest COVID-19 case rate in the country in more than a month. It is among the 15 top performing states in the entire pandemic.

Last fall, when it became clear that California’s tourism industry was losing ground to other states, I convened the meeting committee on the arts, entertainment, sports, tourism, and internet media to learn the facts. Visitor spend and taxes generated fell in half after a record year 2019 saw $ 145 billion in visitor spend. That’s about three times the size of the state’s agriculture and more than Apple’s annual global iPhone sales.

Theme parks and meeting venues were stranded with no state health guidelines to even plan to reopen. The area around the 65th Congregation District I represent in Orange County – home to famous theme parks and a vibrant convention and meeting business – has been destroyed. Anaheim hotel tax collections were down nearly 90% from the last full year before the pandemic.

More than 100,000 Orange Counties, including 15,000 of my constituents, lost their leisure and hospitality jobs in 2020. The travel and hospitality industry was by far the hardest hit employment sector in the state, with 600,000 losing their jobs a month after the lockdown.

As California begins to recover, jobs are returning. The leisure and hospitality sector leads the way, but hundreds of thousands are still unable to get back to work for various reasons.

The legislature has risen to the challenge by calling for the theme park reopening and guidance for business meetings and is now working with Governor Gavin Newsom to provide marketing incentives.

Our constituents can help too. Plan a road trip in the state. Visit our urban centers to experience their fantastic art scene and nightlife. Rediscover the best travel destinations and experiences that we as Californians love about our state. Maybe even to Disneyland.

It’s the most important thing we can do to celebrate California’s reopening and kick-start its economy.

Sharon Quirk-Silva, D-Fullerton, chairs the Congregation Committee on the Arts, Entertainment, Sports, Tourism, and Internet Media.

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