LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Louisville officials are calling the past few months a decisive turning point in the city’s tourism recovery.
The rise in Louisville tourism stems from pent up demand, inflation and even problems with the airline industry, according to city officials.
With flight delays and other uncertainties around the airline industry, some visitors made a road trip to Louisville on Saturday because of an interest in bourbon and horses.
“Making a road trip about a week and we made our way from northern Virginia through Tennessee, over to Memphis then looped up here through Louisville,” E.G. Hamill said. “It’s our first time.”
There were tourists walking down Main Street in downtown Louisville with mini Louisville Slugger baseball bats and bourbon bags.
“A bourbon tour, my 70th birthday was Tuesday so we did a whole week of that,” Jack Mager, from South Carolina, said.
Tourism in Louisville was abruptly halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now it’s on its way back.
“Tourism is a huge business,” Stacy Yates, chief marketing officer for Louisville Tourism, said. “Before the pandemic it would bring about $3.4 million of economic impacts to our city.”
The 2022 Kentucky Derby helped to kickstart a strong summer with numbers on pace or better than 2019.
“We’re heading into robust fall as well with special events like Louder Than Life and Bourbon and Beyond,” Yates said.
Bourbon represents a top attraction for the city.
“We’re operating on a 90-day wait to get into a bourbon attraction distillery tour,” Yates said.
Tom Luft from New York City said the bourbon tours offered in Louisville were “fantastic.”
While inflation and potential recession fears have caused some people to tighten spending, others are being attracted to Louisville because of its convenience.
Tourism officials are marketing the city to neighboring states since Louisville is a short drive away.
“That drive market really helps us strategically and I think that’s what we’re seeing as pent up demand is meeting inflation and all those things,” Yates said.
The local tourism industry is still facing a labor shortage. Prior to the pandemic, Louisville’s hospitality industry employed around 70,0000 people. It’s now around 61,000 people.
More workers are desperately needed because booked events like conventions and trade show for next year look particularly strong. There’s an upcoming job on September 13 at Louisville Slugger Field, for more information, click here.
“It has really been a decisive turning point in our tourism recovery,” Yates said.
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