A new economic forecast suggests that Orange County, California — home to Anaheim and Disneyland Resort — could make a full economic recovery by the end of 2021.
The news of vaccines for the coronavirus, effectiveness, and rollout has many economists bullish on the local economy.
“We think things will be back by next summer,” Chapman President Emeritus and professor James Doti said. “Not fully back. Remember the forecast, it will be at the end of 2021. We see leisure and hospitality jobs… there’s going to be a lot of recovery that we see happening next year.”
Orange County — the home of a large portion of Disneyland Resort employees as well as workers at many hotels and restaurants that rely heavily on Disneyland Guests and tourists — was hit extremely hard by the COVID-19 outbreak. Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park closed on March 14, 2020, and a reopening date for the theme parks has not yet been announced.
The Downtown Disney District and Disney California Adventure’s partially reopened Buena Vista Street are still able to offer limited shopping and dining options amid California Governor Gavin Newsom’s new regional stay-at-home order — all food and beverage consumption, however, must occur off Disneyland Resort property. Dining cannot occur onsite until the order is lifted.
There is, however, as Chapman University’s Professor Doti noted, an eventual end in sight for both Disneyland Cast Members and Guests who miss the theme parks.
In the Spectrum News report, Professor Doti noted, “The COVID effect was greater negatively [in Orange County] than California because Orange County has an even greater proportion of leisure, hospitality, and tourism jobs.”
OC Register reports the following about California’s economic recovery, which is well below the national average:
Yet, while much of the national economy reopened in the summer as the pandemic’s growth temporarily cooled, California took a more cautious path. GDP stats show the ongoing restrictions created a drag on key California industries.
It is important to note that OC Register’s article looks at the state of California as a whole, while Chapman University’s economic forecast is specifically related to Orange County.
Credit: ITM Bailee Abell
