‘Stronger together and safer apart’: South Lake Tahoe tourism suffers during shutdown
Sunday is usually a fun day along the boulevard where U.S. Highway 50 winds to a crawl along the scenic shores of South Lake Tahoe, but a global pandemic has cut off tourism in the quirky little mountain town.
Chris Fiore, communications manager for the City of South Lake Tahoe, said normally crowded roads were virtually empty. The temperature was expected to hit 65 degrees on a beautifully sunny day, but hotels, bars, restaurants, shops and scores of other small businesses remain closed.
“The road should be packed this weekend, but there’s nobody out,” Fiore said. “It’s heartbreaking to see it and it was a hard decision to make, but it was the right decision because we need to keep people safe.”
The coronavirus crisis has delivered a big blow to struggling businesses and tourism in South Lake Tahoe. Fiore said there are hundreds of businesses in the area, but most are closed in accordance with state health orders issued to prevent the spread of COVID-19. City leaders and business owners are eager to open their doors, but they are not yet in a position to ease restrictions, Fiore said.
“Of course we want to reopen,” he said. “Everybody wants to reopen, but our focus right now is on the safety and security of the people who call South Lake Tahoe home. Our City Council has formed short-term and long-term economic recovery task forces that are solely focused on what happens when we reopen, but we know right now that we are stronger together and safer apart.”
Fiore noted that 25 percent of the city’s $40 million budget comes from tourist occupancy and sales taxes.
“We could lose a substantial chunk of our budget and we know other small businesses in the area rely on tourism just like we do, so we could feel the pain of this for years to come,” Fiore said.
The South Shore shutdown started when Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a stay-at-home order for nearly 40 million California residents across the state and along the state line, where Lake Tahoe sits nestled in the Sierra Nevada mountains. Gas stations, pharmacies, grocery stores and restaurants providing take-out and delivery services are open to the city’s 22,000 residents, but nonessential businesses are closed.
Local health officials then implemented their own no-travel order for the Lake Tahoe Basin to stave off tourists looking to get away. The El Dorado County Board of Supervisors later approved an ordinance with a provision for a $1,000 fine to be levied against anyone violating the no-travel order.
“We have a responsibility to keep people safe,” Fiore said. “That is our focus right now.”
This story was originally published April 27, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
