ST. LOUIS – Spring break begins and St. Louis has welcomed more visitors than it has for months. The pandemic had an immediate impact on the hotel and tourism industries when the pandemic hit the region more than a year ago.

“We’re certainly not out of the woods, but we’re seeing some green shoots, we’re seeing some steady progress,” said Brian Hall, Explore St. Louis’ chief marketing officer.

Hall said the spring break and baseball opening day typically mark the start of tourism in St. Louis.

FOX 2 reported in June 2020 that hotel occupancy in the metropolitan area had reached a low of 18.4% in early April.

Brian Hall, Head of Marketing at Explore St. Louis, said occupancy rose to 46 percent in mid-March, the highest since October.

The latest data gives hope to hotel owners like Amrit Gill. He is the CEO of Innkeeper Hospitality Services, which owns the downtown Saint Louis hotel.

“We had no reservations at this time last year and no one even came to the hotel,” he said. “We’re still dramatically down, but we’re starting to see a lot of green shoots, a lot of heightened reservations.”

Hall said area attractions like Union Station, St. Louis Zoo, and The Gateway Arch are seeing increases in visitor numbers. Meanwhile. St. Louis Lambert International Airport is also seeing an increase in passengers that is as high as it was during the holiday season.

“It’s exciting once again to see both St. Louisans getting on planes and taking trips and people coming to St. Louis,” Hall said.

He said leisure travel is on the rise, but sports competitions and group travel are also returning.
“We’ve had volleyball for two consecutive weekends, we’ve tried gymnastics, we’ve just finished D2 wrestling, now this week D1 wrestling.”

With vaccinations increasing and COVID-19 cases decreasing, Hall anticipates the St. Louis hotel industry will fully return in the next 12 to 24 months. However, he expects business or business travel to be the last to return.

“We hope this is the beginning of the end of the pandemic,” added Hall.

“St. Louis is a city on the move and it’s going in the right direction, ”said Gill.

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