ECONOMIC IMPACT

With the halt of tourism due to COVID-19 stay-at-home orders nationally and internationally, early estimates indicate lost visitor revenue in the Coachella Valley will be $3.47 billion—a reduction of 57%—and more than 24,000 jobs eliminated. According to an economic impact study by Tourism Economics, tourism was the destination’s number one industry in 2019, with visitor spending over $5.9 billion and supporting over 53,000 jobs.

Tourism is a critical tax revenue generator for the valley’s nine cities, supporting public safety, education and infrastructure. In 2019, for instance, tourism contributed about $181 million to local municipalities. Post COVID-19, those tax revenues are expected to be reduced to about $103 million, having both an immediate and long-term impact on the region. A 2019 economic impact study indicated that each household would have to contribute an additional $4,031 amount each year to assist the cities with maintaining the level of public safety that tourism had been supporting prior to the COVID-19 shutdown.