MEMPHIS, Tenn. – With the pandemic restrictions eased, the tourism industry is hoping to bounce back after a devastating year.

Downtown Memphis is preparing for the impact with a brand new hotel in hopes of bringing visitors back to Bluff City.

TRENDING: FedEx shooting in Indianapolis: AP identifies suspect as 19-year-old Brandon Scott Hole

The Hyatt Centric will be the premier hotel with an address on Beale Street. It is now officially open to visitors.

“It is very encouraging to see tourism return as soon as possible,” said Kevin Kane, CEO of Memphis Tourism.

With the pandemic restrictions eased, the social scene in Memphis is slowly returning.

“The latest directive on relaxing club dancing is going to be a big boom and we’re slowly but surely returning to normal,” said Kane.

In 2019, according to Kane, Memphis and Shelby Counties had a record 13 million visitors. In 2020 that number dropped dramatically to around 5 million.

TRENDING: The Fox Meadows Gas Station crime scene is for the second time this week

Kane said the numbers are finally rising again.

“The hotel occupancy was very high, especially on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Much of that is vacation travel, and of course our restaurants and entertainment venues are getting busier, ”he said.

The push comes just in time for the opening of the newest hotel in downtown Memphis: Hyatt Centric on Beale Street.

“As we add hotels and hotel rooms in the city of Memphis, and exciting hotels in particular, it just creates a great stage for the city,” said hotel sales manager Nicholas Jansek.

With tourism picking up again, Kane said the challenge now is to find people to fill jobs in the industry.

He said they are holding a job fair at the convention center on May 4th.

Download the FOX13 Memphis App to get notifications of breaking news in your area.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD

Trend stories:

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR