California’s hospitality and tourism sectors are some of the largest economic drivers for the state. Before the global pandemic hit, more than 1.2 million Californians earned their livelihoods in hospitality. Visitors spent $145 billion at California businesses in 2019, generating $12.3 billion in state and local taxes.
The impacts of COVID-19 have been absolutely devastating for hospitality workers and the thousands of small businesses who rely on a healthy tourism economy. More than half of California’s 1.2 million hospitality workers have lost their jobs and the state has lost over $70 billion in visitor spending.
That’s why, since the first statewide shelter-in-place last spring, Senator McGuire has been working with a broad coalition of advocates – including labor, tourism, hospitality, and local chambers of commerce – to address the incredible challenges they are facing and help get over 600,000 hard-working hospitality employees back to work safely and strategically.
This Wednesday, Senator Mike McGuire will be hosting a roundtable conversation with hospitality and tourism industry leaders from across California. They’ll discuss a strategic road map for safely reopening and the critical importance of getting California’s hospitality workers safely back to work when the California Dept. of Public Health declares it is appropriate to resume travel.
Here are the roundtable discussion details:
Who: Senator Mike McGuire; Caroline Beteta, President and CEO, Visit California; John DiFlauro, Disneyland Resort Castmember and Chief Shop Steward, Teamsters Local 495; Horacio Cortés, Santa Clara County Convention Center Team Member, Steward, Teamsters Local 853; Bharat Patel, President, Castle Inn & Suites; and Rhonda Salisbury, CEO/Film Commissioner, Visit Yosemite.
What: Senator McGuire’s Economic Roundtable on the Golden State’s Hospitality and Tourism economy and how the State of California can partner to reopen safely.
When: Wednesday, February 24 at 4 pm.
How to attend: RSVP today by clicking here! After you RSVP, we’ll email the call-in number and livestream video link.
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