Leisure travel and sports team push hotel booking to record high in Chattanooga

But business travel still lags behind pre-pandemic levels

Staff photo by Matt Hamilton / Visitors walk to the Tennessee Aquarium on Friday, July 1, 2022.
Staff photo by Matt Hamilton / Visitors walk to the Tennessee Aquarium on Friday, July 1, 2022.

Leisure travelers and youth sports teams hit the road again last year after largely staying home during the early months of the pandemic in 2020, pushing up hotel stays in Hamilton County to a record high in 2021.

After tourism spending in Hamilton County jumped 40% from 2020 to 2021, industry leaders said Tuesday they expect an even better year for tourism this year.

"2021 was a great year for Chattanooga's tourism industry," Chattanooga Tourism Co. President Barry White said during the group's annual meeting at the Chattanooga Trade Center. "On average, over 15,000 people a night stayed in our hotels last year, and those guests generated the highest total hotel revenue in our history."

White and other leaders said travel spending in Chattanooga is expected to be even higher this year, having already pushed employment in the local hospitality industry in Chattanooga to an all-time high of more than 31,000 people this summer. White said the industry is still seeking to hire more workers to staff restaurants, hotels and attractions that cater to Chattanooga's visitors.

The record spending is being propelled by a rebound in family vacation travel and more traveling sports teams coming to town as the COVID-19 virus has eased.

"Families were eager to get out and travel again last year, and what better place to do that than in Chattanooga?" White asked, citing the variety of attractions in the region. "Mom and Dad also didn't want to miss Sophia's softball tournament, and they didn't want to miss the Little League traveling team."

According to the latest data compiled by the U.S. Travel Association, Hamilton County hosted more than 15 million visitors who collectively spent about $1.5 billion in 2021. On an average day, that's equivalent to 42,000 visitors spending $4.1 million.

The number of travelers coming to Chattanooga could end up being even higher this year. The Tennessee Aquarium, the region's top tourism destination, is back to its 2019 highs this year -- a projected 800,000 visitors expected at the riverfront attraction in 2022, up from 680,000 in the previous year.

"We had a great summer and we're back to our pre-pandemic highs for attendance," Tennessee Aquarium President Keith Sanford said in an interview Tuesday.

Despite such increases, however, overall tourism spending across Tennessee is still not back to the pre-pandemic highs reached in 2019. That's because business travel and conventions are still not fully back to where they were three years ago, White said.

The Tennessee Department of Tourist Development estimates tourists in Tennessee generated $24.2 billion of spending in 2021, or $66 million per day. Although still below the pre-pandemic levels, the growth in visitor spending last year from the depressed level in 2020 marked the biggest increase in Tennessee's history.

Travel in Tennessee generated $1.9 billion in state and supported 317,000 jobs in the state, making tourism Tennessee's third largest employer, according to the U.S. Travel study. The Chattanooga Tourism Co. estimates taxes paid by tourists coming to Chattanooga help reduce the average tax burden for local residents by $868 a year.

While leisure and sports travel has jumped to record highs in Chattanooga, business travel remains lower and may not return to previous highs anytime soon. White said a recent survey showed 20% of business travelers are never returning and another 5% are taking a "wait and see" approach to such travel.

Technology advances and the growing reliance upon Zoom and other video calls during the pandemic appear to have permanently replaced some business trips and in-person sales calls. Such gatherings are now done online or during a call rather than in person.

Lingering COVID-19 concerns and the cost advantages of online conferences are also cutting the size and number of conventions and business meetings. The Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce, for instance, is conducting its annual meeting Wednesday morning online, rather than having a luncheon gathering as it did before the pandemic.

Prior to the pandemic, White said that group and convention businesses represented 25% of the hotel rooms sold in Hamilton County. Last year, such events accounted for only 10% of hotel bookings.

"So far this year, groups and conventions are trending upward, but we and our hotel partners still have a tremendous amount of work yet to do," White said.

Contact Dave Flessner at dflesssner@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6340. Follow on Twitter at @Dflessner1.


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