San Diego’s tourism trade displaying indicators of coming again to life

San Diego lost an estimated $ 280 million in economic impact from the cruise industry alone due to the pandemic alone

SAN DIEGO – With Memorial Day weekend and the unofficial start of summer approaching, the San Diego tourism industry is showing signs of being brought back to life.

As the pandemic progressed, the region lost tens of thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars normally generated by tourism.

As part of this revival in the next few days more than 400 cruise ship employees in San Diego receive their first COVID-19 vaccination shots.

“We’re well on our way back to business,” said Adam Deaton of the Port of San Diego.

“We hope everyone gets vaccinated so we can ride together again,” added Holland America’s Captain Hank Draper.

These recordings are delivered on board by volunteers from Sharp Healthcare.

“We are thrilled to be helping San Diego regain its economy, which certainly has a deep tourism base,” added Brett McClain, Sharp’s COO.

San Diego has lost an estimated $ 280 million in economic impact from the cruise industry due to the pandemic, Deaton said.

At the height of the COVID crisis, 70,000 jobs across the tourism industry were lost nationwide, according to the San Diego Tourism Authority.

However, the critical San Diego tourism industry is beginning to show signs that it is getting its groove back as we near the start of summer.

“For recreational reasons, I think our hotels will do well this summer,” said Julie Coker, president and CEO of the San Diego Tourism Authority. “They’ll keep doing better on the weekends.”

Coker added that there will be a resurgence in business travel at some point as well: 20 conventions will be held in San Diego from August through December.

Large-scale meetings with more than 5,000 people can take place from June 15, provided that attendees provide evidence of vaccination or a negative COVID test.

“It doesn’t limit capacity, but obviously common sense should prevail,” said Coker.

As more and more San Diegans get vaccinated, they are also ready to travel.

Wednesday, Southwest Airlines announced From June 6th, the non-stop service will be expanded to Hawaii

“You don’t have to go to Hawaii for that,” said Namara Mercer, executive director of the San Diego County Lodging Association. “You can stay here.”

Mercer hopes the Southern Californians will choose “stay-kations” this summer.

“If the weather is good, people from the regions here will come to San Diego, so we hope so,” she told News 8.

And local hotels are waiting to welcome you.

In Oceanside, for example, two new hotels, Mission Pacific and Seabird Resort, are opening this month.

“All trends are pointing to a really good rebound this summer,” added Coker.

If you’re looking for some innovative “stay-cation” ideas in San Diego as summer approaches, Click here.