LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — With canceled events and travel plans, Arkansas hotels continue to see a major decline in guests checking in.
“In the hotels, we have seen some positive improvements in their occupancy over the last couple of weeks,” Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau CEO Gretchen Hall said.
Hall said the hotel occupancy rate is slowly getting better, but there’s still a ways to go before enough people are checking in to make an impact.
“The road to recovery is going to be very slow,” Hall said.
For comparison, in June of 2019 occupancy was at 72 percent.
Last June, it was at 39 percent.
“39 percent was still a huge increase, but that’s a long way from a normal year for us,” Hall said.
Two hotels remain closed in the Little Rock area, but they are expected to open back up soon.
“A lot of that hotel staff is unfortunately still furloughed,” Hall said.
So far, July’s averaged a 44 percent occupancy rate and Hall hopes things will soon look up.
“Tourism in a typical year is Arkansas’ number two economic industry, so it’s a major driver for local tax revenue and state revenue. When the visitors come into town, they make a huge impact,” Hall said.
The Little Rock CVB is promoting outdoor amenities hoping to bring in more foot traffic.
They’re also relying on Arkansans to explore their own backyard.
“We think that travel for the remainder of the year will be close to home. We’re encouraging some staycations and some travel within our state boundaries as well,” Hall said.
Last year, travel generated expenditures totaled 7.4 billion dollars to the Arkansas economy, and we’re already seeing a major decline in that total.