Amarillo tourism increase brings revenue boost to the area
Current hotel occupancy is 6.1% higher than Pre-COVID-19 rates in May 2019.
AMARILLO, Texas (KFDA) - Coming out of the pandemic, tourism has greatly increased in Amarillo and so has hotel tax revenue.
This tax revenue creates an economic boost for the city. With more people coming to visit, they are coming to stay a little bit longer to spend their money.
“So typically, in the past we’ve seen people staying in Amarillo about 1.6 to 1.7 days, but now we’re really seeing an increase in that,” said Hope Stokes, marketing director for the Amarillo Convention and Visitors Bureau. “We’re hoping by the end of 2021 to be over two days. Why that’s important, of course, is well people are in Amarillo, and they spend money.”
For people spending their money here, it will greatly boost the economy.
“So with it being up, that just gives the CVB and the city more opportunity to market Amarillo as a destination and that’s what we wanna be,” said Kevin Carter, president of the Amarillo Economic Development Corporation. “We don’t wanna be just an overnight place, we wanna be a destination where you come and bring your family for a couple of days.”
In 2019, over $920 million was spent in tourism alone. with the expected increase in sales, Amarillo can market and develop more amenities in the city for people to come visit.
Editor’s Note: This story has been edited from a previous version.
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