Tourism Drops at Old Mission Santa Barbara Amid Global Travel Concerns
Patricia Martellotti
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – It’s usually a summer hot spot for tourists from all over the world.
But this year, Old Mission Santa Barbara feels different.
“It’s honestly kind of terrifying when I was here last year. It was packed like you could barely move around and now there’s pretty much like no people around,” said visitor Disella Jimenez of Long Beach.
Staff say tourism is down 15 to 20 percent.
The biggest drop?
International visitors.
“Typically, we have referee 250,000 people visit on the ground every year in about 150,000 pay to go to the museum, but the numbers are dropping,” said Father Joe Schwab of Old Mission Santa Barbara.
Schwab believes some travelers are staying away because they don’t feel the U.S. is as welcoming anymore.
While other local museums say their numbers look normal, the mission may be the canary in the coal mine.
“Seems to be happening because of government policies being aimed at people who are immigrants or from other countries. So it’s having an impact and it will have an impact on the economy in the area,” said Schwab.
Right now the mission is hopeful that tourism will rebound with more visitors.
“And eventually people from other countries will feel more safe and secure visiting here again,” said Schwab.
“I’m just very brokenhearted by the fear that a lot of people in our community are living with right now … and for people to coexist more peacefully I guess that would be my one wish right now,” said visitor Ryan Moore of Soledad.
Old Mission Santa Barbara will continue tracking visitor numbers, hoping this summer slowdown isn’t the start of a longer trend.
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