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Public Safety

Tourism In San Diego Comes To A Halt Amid Coronavirus Pandemic

The parking lot at La Jolla shores is closed following orders from the city of San Diego in order to prevent spread of COVID-19, March 22, 2020.
Bennett Lacy
The parking lot at La Jolla shores is closed following orders from the city of San Diego in order to prevent spread of COVID-19, March 22, 2020.
A very big employer in San Diego — besides the Navy, biotech and academia — is tourism. So what's happening to attractions like Sea World? And what are tourism-dependent employers doing for their laid-off employees amid the coronavirus outbreak?

Sea World is furloughing 90% of its workers starting tomorrow. Legoland is closed until at least April 15 and probably beyond. The San Diego Zoo is closed until further notice.

The airport is a ghost town, and even if some intrepid traveler were to arrive, he or she probably could not find a hotel to stay in or a restaurant to eat at.

The cause of all this inactivity is, of course, the COVID-19 pandemic, which is having a disastrous effect everywhere, but certainly on San Diego's tourism industry.

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RELATED: Job Losses Staggers San Diego’s Economy

Meanwhile, Comic-Con, is due at the Convention Center in July. The Convention Center is currently serving as a shelter for the homeless.

Lori Weisberg, who covers travel and tourism for The San Diego Union-Tribune, talks with Midday Edition on Monday about what's closed and whether furloughed workers are getting any help from their employers. (Spoiler: some are.)

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