TOURISM elfino Farms opened in 1964 . Its bakery sells warm goodies such as pumpkin pie , blackberry cheesecake and apple crisps . It ’ s an Apple Hill staple . Every year , like clockwork , sales tick up in October , its peak season . But 2020 was different . Crowds flocked to the farm in September , and as co-owner and General Manager Christine Delfino Noonan says , “ Sales have actually been up . I think it ’ s because people feel safe . Everything we do is outside .” Delfino ’ s parking lot , which can accommodate 100 cars , filled up so quickly that she started charging for parking , hoping to thin the crowds and spread them to the off-peak season . “ We ’ ve been really blessed ,” she says .
The pandemic has devastated many businesses , claimed more than 2,400 lives in the 10-county Capital Region and seemingly crushed all aspects of tourism . Yet the impact is not homogenous . While many small and not-sosmall businesses were roiled , some have seen a windfall with people desperate to hop in their cars and do something , anything , besides cook another dinner at home and watch more Netflix .
And some local businesses have pivoted to survive — even thrive — in the new normal , making the best of a wrenching situation . “ It ’ s been interesting to see how creative these businesses have been ,” says Jody Franklin , director of tourism for El Dorado County Chamber of Commerce . “ You can ’ t keep those small businesses down .”
The domino effect
Think back to February 2020 . In those sunnier days before the pandemic , Sacramento hotels were at around 83 percent occupancy , according to Mike Testa , CEO of Visit Sacramento , adding that for perspective , “ When your hotels are running at 70 percent , then you need more hotels .” And , now , during the COVID-19 pandemic ? Testa says occupancy rates plunged to 16 percent and are still only in the 20 percent to 40 percent range .
The drop in tourism has consequences that domino throughout the Capital Region . Since Sacramento International Airport hasn ’ t been as busy as usual , Uber and Lyft drivers have had less work , airport restaurants and bars have been empty , and shoe shiners have polished fewer loafers . Some of the impacts are obvious , like the devastating plummet in business for restaurants and bars and the closure of beloved retailers , such as Andy ’ s Candy Apothecary in
“ Tourism isn ’ t about the tourist . It ’ s about driving revenue for the residents .”
MIKE TESTA CEO , Visit Sacramento
downtown Sacramento . ( Andy ’ s hopes to reopen in a new location in 2021 .)
Other effects are tougher to spot . When large business groups come into the region for a big meeting , for example , they often do their printing here instead of lugging all the documents and signage . ( For example , Commerce Printing — Comstock ’ s printer — saw its revenue drop by 30 percent .) Also taking a hit are private transportation companies ( those small buses used to transport delegates from hotels to conventions or tourists to Old Sacramento ), dry cleaners and souvenir shops . “ Tourism isn ’ t about the tourist ,” says Testa . “ It ’ s about driving revenue for the residents .”
Confusion has added to the challenge . Tourists have had only a foggy idea of what they can safely do . Franklin received calls from tourists who had booked a trip to El Dorado County , and they asked her before the trip , “ Is there still any reason to come ? Am I going to be able to go to a restaurant ?” Businesses have been flying in the dark when planning staffing , inventory and revenue projections .
Then there have been the sneakier impacts to the region . With both tourists and locals spending more time in the great outdoors , the larger crowds have made the outdoors , well , a bit less great . Outdoor rookies — those not versed in nature etiquette — have been flooding the trails . For example , when the parking lots filled near Cronan Ranch Regional Trails Park in Pilot Hill off Highway 49 , Franklin says people would park nearby and then “ walk across the freeway , their kids in tow .” They littered garbage on the trails . “‘ Leave no trace ’ is not part of their vocabulary ,” Franklin says .
One bright spot : Thanks to the quirks of civic planning , the fallout could have been even worse . “ In some ways , we benefited from having the ( Sacramento ) Convention Center closed ,” says Testa . Since the center closed in July 2019 for an expansion to add 22,494 square feet of exhibit space , a 40,000-square-foot ballroom , meeting rooms and a new lobby , with a completion target of early 2021 , a slowdown was already baked into the expectations . No need to scrap all the trade shows , conferences and concerts — they were never booked in the first place . ( It ’ s one more testament to the bleak 2020 that this counts as “ good news .”)
The pandemic pivots
The Old Sacramento Waterfront historic district depends largely on tourism . So when the pandemic put a squeeze on the influx of visitors , the marketing team at Downtown Sacramento Partnership switched its efforts to reach a new audience : drive-in tourists , or those who live in the region but rarely visit the city center . “ People were tired of being locked in ,” says Michael Ault , executive director of Downtown Sacramento Partnership . So Ault ’ s team had a new mission : How does it still
60 comstocksmag . com | February 2021