COVID-19 Information

Visit SLO CAL

Visit SLO CAL is carefully monitoring the spread of the COVID-19 and its impact on the Travel & Tourism industry. We have compiled a list of resources our industry partners can use to educate themselves, their employees and their guests about the virus.

Please find the latest communication from Visit SLO CAL below:

San Luis Obispo County Impact

In partnership with all seven incorporated cities, the County of San Luis Obispo Emergency Services Director Wade Horton issued an executive order for all people in San Luis Obispo County to shelter at home effective March 19, 2020 at 5 p.m.

Visit Ready SLO for the most up to date media releases from The State of California, San Luis Obispo County and Individual Cities within San Luis Obispo County.

Please find the latest press releases from the County of San Luis Obispo Health Agency - Public Health Department:

TOT Deadline Extended

The County of San Luis Obispo and many of the incorporated cities have moved to defer the assessment of penalties on late payments of Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) for the months of February and March 2020 until August 31, 2020.

The communities/cities listed below have taken action in regards to TOT deferral. Click the appropriate city name below for specific information:

If the city you do business in is not listed above, click HERE to find the contact information for the appropriate city hall.

Please note that you must continue to file your TOT returns and pay the TMD assessment on time.

Advocacy

Visit SLO CAL joined more than 6,000 travel industry and related organizations on Friday in sending a joint letter to congressional leadership requesting aggressive and immediate financial relief in light of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Legislative Analysts’ Office (LAO) has launched a new COVID-19 specific webpage tracking federal actions impacting California. At launch, the LAO released two updates – on unemployment Insurance benefits related to the Federal relief package, and on the federal health care response.

Industry & Employee Resources

Congress approved the $2.2 trillion CARES Act to provide relief for businesses and employees hit hard by the coronavirus outbreak. Visit California has put together Coronavirus Resources for California Tourism Industry which provides descriptions on EIDL Loans (More information outlined below under "SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loan"), Business Interruption Loans, Small Business Debt Relief, SBA Express Loans and Emergency Stabilization Funds.
On March 11, 2020 the World Health Organization classified COVID-19 as a pandemic, Tourism Economics provides an updated outlook as well as a 2020 Analysis on the economic impact due to travel losses.
Longwood International released a COVID-19 and Travel Sentiment Survey which found that 87% of travelers are planning travel in the next six months among other findings.
Up-to-date information as it pertains to the effects of the coronavirus on the travel, tourism and meetings industry can be found on Destinations Internationals Industry Resources page where partners can also join upcoming webinars.
The U.S. Travel Association released a new analysis on March 24, 2020 projecting the decreased travel due to coronavirus will inflict a $910 Billion total hit to the U.S. economy and eliminate 52% of all travel employment by December. They have provided a toolkit outlining travel workforce protection, a guide for communicating healthy travel practices and more.
From a statewide perspective, Visit California is taking an active role in providing up-to-date talking points, industry research as well as Social Media and Content toolkits. Additional information from a social media perspective can be found in the Sparkloft Consumer Sentiment Study
The COVID-19 Dashboard provides up-to-date statistics on the spread of coronavirus and ADARA Traveler Trends Tracker provides real-time travel data that tracks travel-related consumer behavior.
Morris & Garritano Insurance is offering information on what you need to know about COVID-19 from an insurance standpoint here.
If you are employed in the state of California and unable to work due to COVID-19, the Labor & Workforce Development Agency is able to help. You can find out more information about unemployment benefits here.

SBA Information

The CARES Act, the largest economic relief package in our nation’s history, was signed into law on March 27th. U.S. Travel has provided guidelines for the different programs included in the CARES Act and what it means for you and your travel business. Click HERE to learn more about the CARES Act.

Additionally, you can click through the briefs listed below on any of the included stimulus programs:

Small Business Administration Business Interruption Loans (Paycheck Protection Program)
Small Business Administration Coronavirus Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL)
Small Business Administration Express Loans
Emergency Stabilization Fund (Federal Reserve Facilities and Programs)
Small Business Administration Debt Relief for New and Existing Loans
Economic Relief for Airports and Tourism and Delay on REAL ID Enforcement
Business Tax Provisions

If you would like specific assistance or have additional questions about any of the aforementioned programs, please contact Derek Kirk, Director of Community Engagement & Advocacy at derek@slocal.com or Ashley Mastako, Partner Engagement Manager at ashley@slocal.com.

Airline service Updates

In response to the unprecedented disruption to air travel brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, many U.S. airlines have announced schedule changes, reductions in flights, re-deployment of larger international aircraft to domestic routes, and more.

In San Luis Obispo County, Contour Airlines has made the difficult decision to suspend service from Las Vegas, NV to San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport (SBP) for 120 days effective March 30.
Alaska Airlines has updated its schedule to now include two flights connecting Seattle (SEA) and Santa Barbara (SBA), through San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport (SBP) - effective April 10-May 31.
United Airlines has updated direct service to Los Angeles (LAX) from 3 flights per day to 1 per day and to San Francisco (SFO) from 3 flights per day to 1 per day.
American Airlines will now have direct service to Phoenix (PHX) 5 flights per week, previously 4 flights per day.

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