“Tourists are money,” the Sex Pistols sang in “God Save the Queen.”
It’s easy to take tourism for granted in Orange County. Having Disneyland in our backyard is great for the kids, an occasional outing or for when folks come into town. Ditto for the beaches, South Coast Plaza and OC’s other attractions.
Behind it all is one of the reasons why OC is as rich as it is.
As Sandi Cain writes on page 1, the annual bang OC gets from tourism is $2,400 for each of the county’s 3 million people. That’s twice the per capita take for Los Angeles and 30% higher than San Diego.
Any economist will tell you that the jobs generated by theme parks and hotels aren’t the best paying. While they’re good for some (recent arrivals and teens), they’re not where OC gets a big tourism payoff.
The bang comes from a bit of simple economics: money from elsewhere spent here makes OC’s pot bigger.
When Japanese tourists visit Disneyland and shop at South Coast Plaza, that’s new money in the economy. Same goes for a visiting family that stays a week in an Anaheim hotel.
A similar formula is at work with the county’s defense contractors, chipmakers and others. They make the kitty bigger by making stuff here for buyers elsewhere.
,Michael Lyster
