Nashville’s rebound shall be pushed by hospitality, onerous work, tourism chief says

Nashville’s world-famous hospitable culture gets an injection of steroids if the city’s tourism guide goes through with his plans.

In a presentation to the Rotary club on Monday, Butch Spyridon, CEO of Nashville Convention and Visitors Corp., shared his successes, challenges, and future strategies to keep the city at the top of the list as a global entertainment destination.

Spyridon was a major leader in the robust growth era that made Nashville the nation’s premier metro hotel services market in 2019, and put the city at the forefront of attractions around the world.

“Our future is more beautiful than we ever thought possible,” said Spyridon over the Rotary lunch at the Wildhorse Saloon. “We look into the depths, the rest of the country is envied.”

Over the past year, his team stayed tight and focused on one goal: Nashville’s continued meteoric growth and prosperity.

While other city tourist guides took their employees off and turned off the lights, the Convention and Visitors Corp. stayed on. employed in Nashville.

Booked up?:The Nashville hotel business is heating up again, and skeleton crews are scrambling to pamper guests

“We’re full steam ahead,” said Spyridon. “We literally never stopped. That’s a big reason many experts believe Nashville will have one of the fastest rebounds in the country.”

Critics who criticized the city’s rapid expansion, he emphasized the high sales tax revenues outside the city, which reduce the tax burden on residents.

Plans to clean up trash, reduce overcrowding and other problems in the downtown area are underway, he said.

“We must the Madness under control, “Spyridon said.” The number of people, vehicles, and entertainment cause some problems. “

Dig deep

Tourism revenue fell from $ 7.5 billion to $ 3 billion in 2020, forcing Spyridon and other companies to use savings to pay the bills.

The tourism and entertainment industries have flourished since the business restrictions were lifted a month ago. Hotels even reported over 90% occupancy on Memorial Day weekend.

However, weekday business is still lagging far behind 2019 levels, compounded by rising bills and a nationwide staff shortage.

Security:More Nashville police in party districts? “People do not have good conflict resolution skills”

Spyridon and his team are keeping an eye on the recovery they hope will occur before 2023.

They published a positive marketing campaign with no face masks and sanitizer bottles as the stay at home orders passed month after month.

Blues musician Keb Mo sang the campaign theme song, “Come on Back,” and they spread the message that Nashville would love to welcome visitors.

“We’ve seen Vegas polish brass rails and other cities sterilize escalators,” Spyridon said. “When we dug deep, we saw 2,500 hotel rooms and over 100 bars and restaurants open last year. We said, ‘We actually got better.’ We kept selling. We didn’t give up. “

Open for business

The sooner business comes back the better, Spyridon said.

He has appeared on at least nine Music City national television shows this year, including a New Year’s Eve show that rivals the Times Square celebration.

CNN, Fox and MSNBC will be televised Brad Paisley to headline the July 4th Fireworks Celebration.

“I don’t know of any other travel destination that will have so much free advertising,” he said. “We made our fortune. It came from hard work, collaboration and cooperation.”

More:July 4th concert in Nashville adds artists including Lilly Hiatt, Priscilla Block

In addition to selling the city’s many popular shops, the Convention and Visitors Corp. practiced whatever it preached regarding hospitality. It coordinated meals for first responders during the many disasters that struck the city. It donated to homeless shelters and helped musicians secure online gigs.

Now Nashville International Airport is well on its way to having more commercial flights by the end of this year than it did before the pandemic.

More:American Airlines offers non-stop service from Nashville International Airport to Tampa

British Airways is poised to resume nonstop flights from Nashville to London in July with startup donations from BNA and NCVC.

A number of high profile sporting events including the NASCAR Cup series, posted.

Spyridon was so comfortable with the city’s development that he is considering the possibility of a Super Bowl after Nissan Stadium completes the renovations it plans with the city.

“I think you’ll hear more about this in the near future,” said Spyridon. “Depending on the renovations at Nissan Stadium, you can be sure that we’ll knock on doors in New York and say we’re calling for a Super Bowl.”

Sandy Mazza can be reached by email at smazza@tennessean.com, by phone at 615-726-5962, or on Twitter @SandyMazza.