May is tourism month in San Diego. This is the time of the year when our community officially celebrates the significant economic, social and cultural benefits tourism brings to our region, to the nation, and to the world at large.
Just how big is this contribution? Travel and tourism , encompassing transportation, catering, accommodations, recreation and services for travelers , is actually the world’s largest industry and generator of jobs.
It is the nation’s third largest retail sales industry and one of America’s largest employers. It is in fact the first, second or third largest employer in 28 states and the District of Columbia, creating 7.8 million jobs nationally.
The travel and tourism industry that has developed to service the traveler contributes enormously to the U.S. economy. In 1999, direct travel spending in the United States by domestic and international travelers reached nearly $519 billion dollars, 5.6 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product.
For San Diego, the economic impact of travel and tourism is just as dramatic. In 1999, 14.7 million overnight visitors poured $4.8 billion into the local economy, making the visitor industry San Diego’s third-largest, following manufacturing and the military.
Impressive Statistics
The statistics are certainly impressive on paper, but many of you who have no direct tie to the visitor industry may ask, “Well, fine and good, but how does this actually benefit me? Why should I care whether visitors come to town?”
To answer that question, let’s follow some tourist dollars as they wind their way through the various levels of our economy. We’ll use the case of John and Jane Doe and their two young children. The Does booked a vacation online by using the San Diego Convention & Visitors Bureau Web site (www.sandiego.org) after reading a glowing article in FamilyFun magazine naming San Diego the most family-friendly city in the Southwest.
The first dollars to fly out of John’s hands went to purchase the airline tickets for this family and a rental car for the week’s vacation in San Diego. More dollars went to pay for a six-night stay at a local hotel near the beach.
Upon their arrival in San Diego, the Does planned their day’s activities with great excitement. Because they were in a vacation mood, they threw caution to the wind and spent rather freely during their entire stay here. They were, after all, “on vacation” and thought nothing of splurging on whatever they felt would make their vacation experience more memorable.
Around Town
They spent dollars to visit the San Diego Zoo, SeaWorld San Diego, Legoland California and the Wild Animal Park; they dropped more dollars at several local restaurants and even more buying souvenirs of San Diego at specialty stores and at several of the shopping malls around town.
They drove around the county, from Julian to Chula Vista, pumping gas at local stations for their day trips. They rented a sailboat and jet skis for the kids; took them to a couple of movies at local theaters; visited the Stephen Birch Aquarium; toured the museums of Balboa Park; played miniature golf; took a hike and visited the Mission Trails Nature Museum; saw an IMAX film at the Reuben H. Fleet Science center; and rode the roller coaster and played video games at Belmont Park. They spent plenty of dollars as they made their way around town.
What happens to their dollars after this point, though, isn’t so obvious. The Does’ dollars became part of the paychecks for all those persons who had direct , as well as indirect , contact with the Doe family and their money: the hotel receptionist who took their reservation; the security guard at the museum; the linen supply truck driver who brings in the hotel laundry; the air traffic controller at Lindbergh Field; the food supplier to the restaurants where the Does’ went for dinner; the recycling company collecting the day’s refuse at the attractions; the construction worker putting a new addition on the Does’ hotel; and the accountant at the rental car company.
Message Is Obvious
These paychecks were cashed and some of the Doe dollars took another turn around the community. They were used by these same employees to buy groceries, to pay the mechanic, to buy a new dress at the shopping mall, to purchase a new TV. People from the local hairdresser to the family doctor, in a roundabout way, all got a slice of the Doe dollars.
The message is obvious. Those visitor dollars continued to trickle down through various levels of our community, enriching the local economy each step of the way by providing wages, salaries, profits and taxes.
So the next time you see tourists meandering through town, you might just look at them in a new light , as generators of spending whose dollars help to enrich San Diego’s economy and quality of life for us all.
Reinders is president and CEO of the San Diego Convention & Visitors Bureau.
