The city of Springfield, Missouri, is on track to break its record of hotel stays in 2022 — a mark set a year ago.
The Springfield News-Leader reported the numbers via Tracy Kimberlin, leader of the city’s Convention and Visitors Bureau:
In 2021, Springfield set a record with 1,439,619 occupied hotel rooms. And the city is poised to eclipse that in 2022 with a projected 1,445,000 occupied rooms.
Kimberlin, who is leaving the organization at the end of the year, said Springfield’s tourism industry rebounded from the pandemic’s nadir in essentially nine months, where it has taken other communities two years. […]
Kimberlin said meetings, conventions and business travel have been slower to rebound from the pandemic, but Springfield has taken advantage of people’s “huge pent up demand for leisure travel.”
Vacationers are drawn to Springfield for attractions like the Wonders of Wildlife National Museum and Aquarium, events like the Birthplace of Route 66 Festival, and the proximity to Branson.
Kimberlin told the newspaper the CVB more aggressively sought grant funding to keep it afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic and launched a $2.5 million advertising campaign.
Kimberlin, who is retiring, said he was concerned about 2023 tourism because of a possible economic recession, plus outbreaks of influenza and RSV early in the year. But he said any sort of downtown next year likely will be temporary.
(Image of a “Birthplace of Route 66” banner in Springfield, Missouri, by jcsullivan24 via Flickr)