Wine Industry - Casino Help Valley Economy

According to the UCSB Economic Forecast Project's Santa Ynez Valley Economic Outlook, which was presented Wednesday in the Little Theatre at Santa Ynez Union High School, the Santa Ynez Valley's economy is expected to be “relatively robust” compared to neighboring areas of Santa Barbara County.

The Economic Forecast Project, presented a review of the Valley's economy and the five-year forecast for the area, which includes Ballard, Buellton, Los Olivos, Solvang and Santa Ynez Township. While the Santa Ynez Valley has suffered some of the same economic impacts from the housing slowdown as other areas of northern Santa Barbara County, the Valley has a slightly different economic base. Major factors driving the Valley's economy are wine and the Chumash Casino as well as the tourism generated by both, the report notes.

The forecast says that while wine prices fluctuate, the tourism it generates is more stable and draws a class of visitors likely to spend more than other types of tourists. Gambling is not cyclical in nature, but while the Chumash Casino is the largest employer in the area - providing jobs to 1,550 people, more than five times the second-place employer, Alisal Guest Ranch - its workers tend to come from outside the area. The casino's recent expansion has been a more successful investment than expected, and forecasters are waiting to see what impact the Chumash tribe's recent purchase of the Royal Scandinavian Inn will have. Hotel and motel room rentals in 2006 grew 11 percent in Buellton and 20 percent in Solvang, with an occupancy rate of about 76 percent.

Job growth declined 0.06 percent in 2005 from the previous year, but in 2006 it showed a 0.06 percent increase, mostly in construction, nondurable goods manufacturing and the service industry.

As with the rest of the North County, the Valley's real estate market slowed in 2006, as sales volume dropped and new housing production declined. Much of that was the result of slow growth attitudes and policies in the South Coast and San Luis Obispo areas that stagnated those economies.

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http://www.santamariatimes.com/articles/2007/06/06/news/centralcoast/news11.txt