BUFFALO, NY (WKBW) – Community officials look forward to a rebound in the tourism industry after COVID-19 took such a big bite out of it last year.

Visit Buffalo Niagara said the hotel business declined about 47% from 2019 to 2020 and that hotels lost about 60% of sales from one year to the next. Visiting Buffalo Niagara President / CEO Patrick Kaler said there could be signs of hope hotel occupancy rose 17% last month compared to April 2020.

Kaler said that summer is high season and that Visit Buffalo Niagara appeals to tourists from central New York and New York City.

“We’re just hoping for a good summer, mainly because this summer will be more of a propulsion market for travelers, and we feel like a perfect destination for New Yorkers as well as people from Ohio and Pennsylvania,” said Kaler.

Canadians cannot drive because the border remains closed. Kaler said Canadians typically make up 35-45% of the visitors. He expects outdoor destinations like Outer Harbor and Canalside to be hotspots.

Buffalo Double Decker Bus Tours was out of service last summer. This season starts in June and usually starts in May. Joel Dombrowski, chief fun officer, said he was aiming for about 75% of normal business.

“We decided to focus primarily on the locals because we don’t know if people are coming from outside the city, we don’t know if the border will be open,” said Dombrowski. “So we redesigned our existing tours to make them new and interesting for locals, but then we added tours that we think locals will enjoy too.”

These tours now stop at local businesses like Naval Park and Breweries.

“Last year has shown that we have to rely on each other. If I do it well, other people do it well and so on. So it’s an upward spiral,” said Dombrowski.

Dombrowski said new tours include a crime fiction disco party that stops at multiple locations and a ladies-only tour with food, drink, a clairvoyant, and a tiki boat.

Niagara Falls Mayor Robert Restaino said the city wants to attract visitors to this part of the state.

“The people in the state may have a lot of focus on New York City, and we’re running a campaign talking to them about the other side – the fact that we may be portraying this incredible difference between what New York City has to be offer and what we have to offer, “said Restaino.

Visit Buffalo Niagara, which is developing a 10-year master plan for tourism, and look for local information. The ones who fill that out survey entered to win a Staycation Package.