CLEVELAND — Like most cities, the Cleveland-area's tourism industry collapsed in 2020, because of the pandemic.
However, new numbers from Destination Cleveland show the region started to bounce back in 2021.
There were more than 16 million visits to Cuyahoga County last year, a 17% increase from the worst of the pandemic in 2020, and that growth was almost double Ohio’s increase.
“It’s exciting to see us coming out of it, and we think we’re on track that probably sometime in early 2024 we’ll be back to the same visitors we were prior to COVID,” said Destination Cleveland CEO David Gilbert.
“It has picked up since it’s been back over the last year, but at first it was really slow,” said Slammin’ Sammy’s Chicken and Ribs owner, Sam Spain.
For the last four years, Spain has faithfully participated in ‘Food Truck Tuesdays’ in Downtown Cleveland.
“It was crowded. You know lines all the way back,” said Spain.
Then, the pandemic hit in 2020, changing the flow of traffic.
“Last year it was just coming back. They didn’t know how it was going to be. People were still working from home. It wasn’t as many people downtown, but now people are working back downtown, so more people are coming out,” said Spain.
On Tuesday, a report released from Destination Cleveland shows the situation got better in 2021, with more than 16 million people traveling to Cuyahoga County.
Overall, this data indicates a 17% increase over 2020 when the county experienced a 30% loss in visit volume due to the global pandemic.
For some, a 17% increase may not seem like a lot.
“It is a very big number, but we still have ways to go,” said Gilbert.
We also asked a professor at Case Western Reserve University to break it down.
“I think people are still suffering with the impact of inflation. Gas prices are high and with the OPEX recent announcement about cutting back on production, we expect higher gas prices so folks are looking at how they can save on every dollar, and that may mean one less trip and filling up the tank to visit,” said Department of Design and Innovation professor Michael Goldberg of Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University.
Goldberg continued saying, “Those numbers I think reflect good growth. Certainly could’ve been a little bit higher, but I think folks here are happy to see those numbers heading back in the right direction."
Like Goldberg, Gilbert said they won’t take their progress for granted.
Gilbert said they will continue to be creative and innovative to get the county’s numbers back to where they stood before the pandemic.
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