San Luis Obispo County is expected to lose $1 billion in economic impacts in the coming years with the closure of the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant.
Visit SLO Cal says residents can help reduce the loss and build for the future by simply filling out a 15-minute survey.
Granted, the survey will not necessary solve all the economic issues SLO County faces, but it can go a long way.
"I think the community is generally aware of the closure of the Diablo Canyon Power plant will have a significant impact on the region, but there are other factors at play that are also going to change our economy over the coming decades," said Christine Robertson, Vice President of Community Engagement & Advocacy of Visit SLO Cal. "We need to make a decision as a community how we’re going to manage some of these changes."
The Destination Management Survey asks residents from the entire county to give their thoughts on where we live and how it can be improved.
"We’re reaching out to the community in hopes that they’ll tell us what they’re priorities are, what top issues are that they’re concerned about and what they want the community to look like in the future," Robertson said.
Tourism is the largest economic driver outside of agriculture. In 2017, tourism spending tallied up $1.7 billion. It supports 13.3% of all jobs in the county and generates $79.3 million in local tax revenue.
Though the goal of the survey isn’t necessarily to build more tourism serving facilities.
"We’re asking residents across the county to tell us where their seeing maybe some negative impacts to tourism that we can help manage as well as opportunities for us to bring new assets or experiences in to their community," Robertson said.
Results will be part of a plan set for the next 20 to 30 years for the county and Visit SLO Cal knows local residents have strong, helpful opinions.
The Destination Management Strategy is a $250,000 initiative, privately funded by Visit SLO CAL’s investors who collect an assessment paid by visitors who stay in local lodging establishments.
