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By JAN LOOMIS, Special to the Daily Transcript
Tuesday, September 10, 2002
The software development sector and the tourist industry were both hard hit by the events of 9/11 and both have suffered in varying degrees all year, according to John Thornton, CEO of Mitek Systems and Thornton Winery in Temecula.
The events of Sept. 11, 2001 translated into an immediate and lasting conservatism in spending on new software applications.
"Companies were reluctant to think about new projects and deals became harder to close," Thornton said.
This situation is exacerbated by the problems that developed in business travel. "While our sales executives can still travel, they find the increased time and effort makes them less productive," he said. The company has used video and the Internet more in its sales efforts, but Thornton said, "It still can't quite replace a face-to-face contact.
"The winery felt the emotional impact of 9/11 for several months," Thornton said, since people were sticking closer to home and not dining out as often. However, he noticed as the months passed, the winery seemed to become a safe haven for the residents of the valley, and "our tourism business benefited from the fact that Californians were staying within driving distance of their homes." Foreign tourism was down though.
"Our corporate event business also picked up as businesses stayed closer to home for meetings," Thornton said. On the other hand, the company's wine sales to hotels and restaurants were slowed by the decline in tourism overall. "Other winery owners seemed to see the same type of pattern no matter where they were located," he said.
Approaching the anniversary, Thornton said, "Business at the winery is close to normal, but the software business is still trying to recover although that may be more the economic downturn at this point than the 9/11 events."
When asked to comment on the tragedy in general, Thornton said, "Overall, for me personally, the outpouring of patriotism and the reexamination of our core values seemed to be a healthy thing for both the country and San Diego."
Loomis is a free-lance writer based in Poway.
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