The new Hampton Inn & Suites near Hamilton Place.
TENNESSEE TOURISM BY THE NUMBERS• 143,800 Tennesseans employed• $15.4 billion – Total economic impact• 54 million – Annual visits• $813 Average spent per trip for leisure travelSource: Tennessee Department of Tourist Development, 2011What’s coming• Hampton Inn at 74 Starview Lane, 94 rooms, opening in June 2013• Embassy Suites on Shallowford Road, 203 suites, opening in June 2013• Hampton Inn & Suites near Hamilton Place, 134 rooms, opening in September, 2013• Hampton Inn, Kimball/South Pittsburg, 80 rooms, opening in October 2013• Westin Hotel Chattanooga, former Gold Building, 216 rooms, projected opening 2014Source: Smith Travel Research
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The supply of hotel rooms in the Chattanooga market will jump by about 7.5 percent during the next year, which could spell trouble for hoteliers despite expectations for a busy summer tourism season.
At least 728 new hotel rooms under construction are to be added this year and next in the Chattanooga market, according to Smith Travel Research.
“That’s a pretty stiff add,” said Bobby Bowers, senior vice president of operations at Smith Travel Research. “If you just look at what will be added as a percentage of what’s there now, that’s a significant add that’s going to be pumped into the supply.”