The aftermath of the September 11th terrorist attacks nearly two decades ago rocked California’s tourism industry.

It stopped air travel, gutted business travel, stole tens of millions in tourism tax revenue from local governments, and drove consumers into risk averse mindsets fearing for their safety and personal finances. The Bay Area was hit particularly hard – it suffered the worst tourist impact of any California destination.

Two decades later, California’s tourism industry is slated to fully reopen after another disaster. Thanks to our high vaccination rates, Californians and visitors from other states can arm themselves again without social distancing restrictions.

But damage has been done.

Economists say tourism in the United States has already been hit 11 times worse than it was after September 11th.

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 plan to reopen. The travel and hospitality workforce was the hardest hit employment sector: 600,000 lost their jobs a month after the lockdown.

The Bay Area tourism industry, which relies on major conventions, business meetings, and international travelers, is one of the hardest hit regions in the state. Visitor spend in 2020 was down 62.6% from 2019, more than the nationwide drop of 55%. State and local tax revenues related to tourism declined by nearly $ 2 billion in the region.

Make no mistake, it’s already starting to rush back. California stands ready to regain the lost market share to other states that have dealt less responsibly with the pandemic than we have.

And the tourism industry is ready to re-establish itself as a reliable economic engine and job producer.

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 major contributor to Senator Mike McGuire’s efforts to provide stimulus funding to the Visit California tourism marketing program. The money currently being approved in the state budget legislature this week will provide $ 95 million in state funding to expand marketing campaigns to tourism that will help businesses and workers recover.

This plan has worked for us before.

The California tourism industry’s marketing dollar boost took effect after 9/11. The state was one of only three states to gain market share that year.

Check out California’s latest forecast, produced in partnership with global forecasting firm Tourism Economics, showing a full pandemic economic recovery could be another four years.

Californians can aid faster economic recovery with a modern act of patriotism. They can take their vacation in their home state for the next few months. This will help their Californian compatriots and the small businesses that employ them.

Californians have stepped up during this pandemic – and are making sacrifices for public health amid economic hardship for many.

The result?

California is among the top 15 top performers when it comes to keeping coronavirus infections low throughout the pandemic. according to the New York Times data tracker.

As California begins to recover, jobs are returning. The leisure and hospitality sector is a leader. However, too many workers are still unable to return to work for various reasons.

The legislature is rising to the challenge, pushing for the theme park to reopen and advising business meetings, and is now working with Governor Newsom to provide marketing incentives.

The people of California can help too. Plan a road trip in the state. Visit our urban centers to learn about their food, arts and nightlife scenes. Rediscover all the places and experiences that we Californians love about our state.

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

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