The push to get San Diego hotel workers devastated by the pandemic back to work Newly proposed legislation aims to provide a tax credit to hotel workers for personal protective equipment as well as direct payroll grants to the hotel industry Author: Richard Allyn (Reporter) Updated: 11:18 PM PDT May 13, 2021 SAN DIEGO COUNTY, Calif. — Before COVID-19 struck, San Diego's tourism industry was the county's second-largest employer. The economic shutdown forced by the pandemic, though, has had a devastating effect on thousands of local hotel workers, and its impacts are still being felt. Leading up to the pandemic, according to Julie Coker, head of the San Diego Tourism Authority, our county boasted 200,000 travel-related jobs.