In the month of July, San Diego gets Comic-Con, the Pride Parade and Festival, the beginning of the Del Mar thoroughbred racing season, and the Over The Line tournament, and the folks who come here from all over the world to take part provide a big economic shot in the arm for San Diego.
“July in general is the busiest month for travel into San Diego. We will welcome more than 4,000,000 visitors, it is our biggest spending month,” said San Diego Tourism Authority’s CEO Kerri Kapich. According to the organization, in July visitors will spend $1.5 billion at San Diego’s businesses.
“Business is great, great time of year for us,” said Nathan Wing, the general manager of Searsucker restaurant in the Gaslamp where Comic-Con is in full swing. “We have a lot of studio people coming in, as well as locals who know our name and want to come down and people watch.”
Wynnona Overcast was recently hired as a hostess at the Field Irish Pub. “Every Comic-Con they need extra hands just because it gets way busier,” she said.
Brittany Ramirez, a tourist from Los Angeles, said she spent $50 dollars on the first day of Comic-Con and is hoping to stay within a $200 budget.
According to the San Diego Tourism Authority, spending and local impact at this year's convention are expected to exceed last year's when 135,000 attendees over the course of the event spent $88 million and generated $149 million for the region.
last weekend, 350 000 people attended the Pride Parade and Festival, more than last year when the economic impact was more than $26 million. According to the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, Del Mar employs 5,150 people with an annual payroll of $33.1 million; Del Mar’s economic impact in San Diego is $90 million annually; the California horse racing industry is responsible for more than 19,000 jobs and provides more than $1.7 billion annually to the state’s economy.
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San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer said this money could potentially mean the city can hire more of the real superheroes -- police, firefighters, and lifeguards.
