Disneyland Closure Costs California $5 Billion
Tough times are lasting in Southern California, which means — without Disneyland — a tough hit on the economy…
News out of the Anaheim area continues to be frustrating. And it is not getting easier.
Jonathan Lansner, of the Orange County Register, reported:
Photo: Getty Images
The pandemic’s shuttering of Disneyland has cost the Southern California economy $3 billion already and will cost it another $2 billion through March 2021 if the theme park remains closed, according to a Cal State Fullerton forecast.
Anil Puri, director of the university’s Woods Center for Economic Analysis and Forecasting, says the school’s economists made those estimates based on work sponsored by Disneyland a year ago that attempted to quantify the resort’s economic footprint. The Anaheim park’s strong visitor draw powers numerous related businesses, such as hotels to eateries.
The estimated $5 billion loss comes as Disneyland and the California theme park industry are in a heated battle with Gov. Gavin Newsom over how and when the attractions, closed since spring, can reopen. New health guidelines issued Tuesday suggest most park reopenings won’t occur until next year — if not next summer.
Governor Newsom. Image: ABC.
Furthermore, Puri indicated that — even after the theme parks open up — things may not return to normal until late in 2021.
However, Mr. Puri noted some items that are often lost in the equation of those who wish to see the gates of Disneyland open:
Image: Disney.
He also notes that California’s strict pandemic-control policies — rules criticized by many business leaders — have helped the state fare far better against the pandemic than its economic peers in Texas and Florida.
Those states have far less-restrictive health mandates but far higher coronavirus case and death rates on a per-capita basis. Yes, they’ve also had some better economic performance.
“We need to fight the right enemy,” he said. “It’s not the government. The battle is with the virus.”
Image Credit: Disney
