Returning occasions spark optimism for native tourism business

Nick Hedrick | nhedrick@jrpress.com

Local tourism officials are optimistic about events returning this year as the hotel industry appears to be recovering from the coronavirus pandemic.

The planned events include an additional race on the Ironman Raceway, where the Hoosier GNCC will take place in May. Fans are also expected to gather for the AMA Pro Racing-approved Ironman National in August and the GNCC season finale in October.

There are also plans for the Strawberry Festival, Taste of Montgomery County, Friends of Sugar Creek Canoe Race, and Crawfordsville Main Street summer concerts and lunchtime events.

“People hope events can happen, and I think we know so much more [about the coronavirus] than us, ”said Heather Shirk, director of the Montgomery County Visitors and Convention Bureau.

The decline in travel during the pandemic devastated the U.S. hotel industry, laying off millions of workers and closing due to historically low occupancy.

According to the American Hotel & Lodging Association, employees in the hotel industry are down nearly 4 million jobs compared to the same period last year. More than a third of hotels were expected to go bankrupt or be forced to sell by the end of 2020.

While half of U.S. hotel rooms are expected to remain empty this year, industry analysts say optimism about the COVID-19 vaccine will set the stage for a comeback in vacation travel.

“But [people] I want to travel to small rural communities so I think this is a good sign for us, ”Shirk told Montgomery County’s Congressional and Visiting Committee members during a virtual meeting Thursday.

The return of visitors will also pump more tax dollars into the economy. According to the Hotel and Accommodation Association, states and municipalities should lose tax revenue of $ 16.8 billion from hotel operations last year.

According to a financial report, the Congress and Visitors Committee posted revenues of $ 197,077 in 2020, compared with an annual average of $ 250,000. The money finances grants to promote local tourism.

The innkeeper’s tax figures improved at the end of last year as some hotel operators paid several months of collections at the same time.