With Memorial Day weekend approaching and summer time approaching, the Paducah tourism industry is expected to see a boost as travelers hit the streets again amid vaccinations and relaxed restrictions for the COVID-19 pandemic.

Paducah once again welcomed riverboat visitors to the riverside in April, while the National Quilt Museum had its “best month” since reopening in June 2020. The Carson Center appears to have a full season for this year and the Paducah-McCracken County Convention & Expo Center reports requests for meetings and continued sports-related tourism.

In other words, visitors are returning in 2020 after a shortened tourism year. Like everything else, the pandemic affected all facets of the industry.

A local business owner, Samuel Neihoff, co-owner of The Respite Bed & Breakfast in Paducah, said he had “definitely seen an increase” in bookings. As for travel, it seems to be picking up speed again, he added.

“Last year was really tough,” he said. “We didn’t open until the fall of 2019 and since this is of course a new store it’s always a little slow at first, but we saw that some bookings were really coming in and things picked up and then the pandemic and shutdowns happened. “

The bed and breakfast is located at 502 N. Fifth St. and has five short-term rooms that can be booked by guests, as well as other amenities. It has bookings that are about a month away and it’s also getting last-minute bookings, Neihoff said.

“Paducah is really in a great area because we are so close to the Shawnee National Forest, the lakes,” he said. “We have our own websites like the Quilt Museum and things like that that really help attract people here. I think it’s a good central location for a lot of travelers. “

The Paducah Convention & Visitors Bureau at 128 Broadway Street is expecting a “busy” summer season for Paducah and the region, said executive director Mary Hammond.

“Industry experts predict the pent-up demand for travel will be realized in the summer of 2021. Americans will feel safer and more comfortable with COVID cases falling and vaccinations increasing,” she said.

“Vacationers plan family outings to reconnect and visit loved ones and keep looking for smaller destinations that are accessible by car. Paducah is well positioned to appeal to these visitors and to welcome more sporting events, business travelers, and group travel. “

It’s welcome news as the McCracken County’s tourism industry has a significant economic impact. The industry welcomed an estimated 2.4 million visitor trips in 2019, generating $ 273 million in tourism spend and supporting 2,500 jobs.

“According to the latest Longwoods International tracking study of American travelers … only 30% say the coronavirus will greatly affect their decision to travel in the next six months – the lowest level since March last year, and six in ten.” say they do now. Feel safe traveling outside their communities, their highest level in a year, ”said Hammond.

“Local and national insights reflect this positive mood and development for the recovery of tourism – travel is on the up. The search volume for accommodations grows along with the organic website traffic to (target marketing organization) websites like Paducah.travel, strong indicators of consumer interest and increasing travel planning. “

According to Hammond, the average occupancy rate for all hotels in Paducah / McCracken County was 61.5% as of April this year. That is only one point less than in April 2019, which she described as a good year for tourism. The CVB signs a contract with Smith Travel Research about the occupancy figures and it is permissible to share monthly figures.

“March and April were good months with people back out for business and pleasure,” she added. “The occupancy figures reflect the trips during the week, which almost correspond to the Saturday figures. Paducah has definitely felt the effects of indoor sporting events at the Expo Center over the weekend. “

The Paducah Hospitality Association – a group of hoteliers, diners and other members of a tourism industry – also showed a positive trend. Association President Joshua Holmes said, “We are 100% in a recovery.”

“We have some good occupancy rates in our hotels,” said Holmes.

“People are very, very busy – what work and the service problem has come up very often because suddenly they are no longer able to get people to deal with how busy we are. I’m saying this more as a sign of how much we’re recovering. “

Holmes, a member of McCracken County’s Sports Tourism Commission, also pointed to a positive impact on hotel occupancy related to sports tourism, citing the Paducah-McCracken County Convention and Exhibition Center.

It hosts sporting events and tournaments on indoor courts and attracts visitors from outside the community. The center’s executive director Michelle Campbell said the center is seeing a lot of requests for small meetings, but larger corporate events and conferences would take more time to come back. However, sporting events have a different dynamic.

“As was the case during the pandemic, exercise was still something that was going on,” she added. “That has not stopped with COVID. In the sports industry we are experiencing a faster comeback than trade fairs and associations. “

All in all, Holmes said there are things to be excited about and “we see a light at the end of the tunnel.”

“I would estimate that in the summer of 2021 we will have a greater direct and indirect economic impact from tourism than in 2019 and possibly years before,” he said.

As for other attractions, officials at the National Quilt Museum and Carson Center were optimistic for the rest of the coming year.

Frank Bennett, CEO of the Quilt Museum, said it had 1,992 paid visitors in April, of which 268 were river boat tourists.



National Quilt Museum

Visitors check out the colorful quilts on display at the National Quilt Museum in downtown Paducah during an April visit. Museum CEO Frank Bennett said April was the “best month” the museum has had since reopening in June 2020, with 1,992 paid visitors. He expects an even better month in May.


This has been the “best month” the museum has had since it reopened last June, and it’s growing from week to week. May is expected to be better than April. Prior to COVID, he said the museum would see 35,000 to 40,000 visitors a year.

“I really see the next two years as a huge positive curve, so I think … the quarter we are in is the start of a very positive tourism trend in a few years in all of tourism, which is for every attraction in Paducah will be great, ”he said.

Earlier this week, Bennett looked at license plates in the parking lot, including Tennessee, Illinois, Missouri, Ohio, Colorado, and Washington.

“Everyone who is here is happy to see us return to normal,” he said.

“People are getting their vaccines. People are starting to get out of their homes and travel and we’re very, very excited. We believe that in the next few years we will see a real boom in tourism and thousands upon thousands of people at the National Quilt Museum. “

Mary Katz, managing director of the Carson Center, was also excited.

“We have a few items on offer right now,” she said.

“… We currently have Melissa Etheridge and 38 Special on sale, and then we’ll have some Broadway shows and some other concerts. I literally build the plane the way we fly it because I book things every day. It looks like we’re back to full capacity with a full season. It’s really exciting. “

The venue typically has about 125,000 or more people coming through its doors a year, Katz said, adding that while it probably won’t be back to 2019 numbers, it is anticipating a “great comeback.”

“I am very optimistic,” she said.

“I think people are so excited to be going back to live theater. I think everyone is fed up with Zoom and fed up with TV and Netflix, and I think they’re so excited to be in a room with other people. The more people we can vaccinate and get people back to normal activities, the better. This whole industry, the art industry, is bringing so many people back to work. That’ll be great. “

Katz said the Carson Center will hold technical rehearsals on Broadway later this year, which has an economic impact on the community as members of the Broadway company stay in hotels, eat and shop, etc.

“Each ‘tech’ takes about three weeks, so they spend money in our community and then of course they are here to give us a show, but they tweak their show and then they go on tour.” She said. “So, we’re going to get the opening night of the tour and then they go out on the streets.”



American duchess

People leave the American Duchess, a riverboat owned by the American Queen Steamboat Company, after it docked on the Paducah riverside on April 9, while others watch nearby. It was a return of the river boats to Paducah bringing tourists from all over the world to explore the city during their stay.


The Carson Center draws visitors from all over the country, noted Katz. As a regional center for the performing arts, she said the majority of its sponsors are from surrounding states.

“I think people are showing a willingness to get out of their cities and go to other places even when it’s nearby,” she said.

“When we were just doing our movies outdoors – when we couldn’t do anything else indoors during the pandemic, we had people from all over the world just looking for something and coming to Paducah. We’re going to keep the movies just because people are coming weekly so we can tell them about all the big shows that are coming. “

Ultimately, Hammond believes the past year has opened up a “new perspective” on the importance of tourism to the community and its growth opportunities.

“COVID-19 significantly reduced the economic impact that is vital to Paducah businesses and residents, but it also reminded us of the value of connection, culture and community that travel supports,” she said.

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