Advertisement

Header Utility Menu

  • Subscribe
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Events

LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Instagram Get Our App

  • Login

Virginia Business

Mobile Menu

  • Issues
  • Industries
    • Banking/Finances
    • Law
    • Real Estate
    • Economic Development
    • Education
    • Energy/Green
    • Federal Contracting
    • Government
    • Healthcare
    • Hotels/Tourism
    • Insurance
    • Ports/Trade
    • Small Business
    • Startups
    • Technology
    • Transportation
  • Regions
    • Central Virginia
    • Eastern Virginia
    • Northern Virginia
    • Roanoke/New River Valley
    • Shenandoah Valley
    • Southern Virginia
    • Southwest Virginia
  • Reports
    • Best Places to Work
    • Business Person of the Year
    • CEO Pay
    • COVID-19
    • Generous Virginians Project
    • Legal Elite
    • Most Influential Virginians
    • Maritime Guide
    • Site Locator
    • The Big Book
    • Virginia CFO Awards
  • Company News
    • For the Record
    • People
  • Opinion
  • Lists
  • Awards/Events
    • 2022 Virginia Business Political Roundtable
    • Women in Leadership
    • Diversity Leadership Series
    • Virginia 500
    • Legal Elite
    • CFO Awards
    • Big Book of Lists
    • 100 People To Meet
    • Best Places To Work
  • Virginia 500
    • Read The Issue
    • Power Up Virginia 500
    • Buy an award plaque
    • Suggest execs for 2023

Advertisement

Header Primary Menu

  • Issues
    • February 2023
    • January 2023
    • December 2022
    • November 2022
    • October 2022
    • Issues Archive
  • Industries
    • Banking/Finances
    • Law
    • Real Estate
    • Economic Development
    • Education
    • Energy/Green
    • Federal Contracting
    • Government
    • Healthcare
    • Hotels/Tourism
    • Insurance
    • Ports/Trade
    • Small Business
    • Startups
    • Technology
    • Transportation
  • Regions
    • Central Virginia
    • Eastern Virginia
    • Northern Virginia
    • Roanoke/New River Valley
    • Shenandoah Valley
    • Southern Virginia
    • Southwest Virginia
  • Reports
    • Best Places to Work
    • Business Person of the Year
    • CEO Pay
    • COVID-19
    • Generous Virginians Project
    • Legal Elite
    • Most Influential Virginians
    • Maritime Guide
    • Site Locator
    • The Big Book
    • Virginia CFO Awards
  • Company News
    • For the Record
    • People
  • Opinion
  • Lists
  • Awards/Events
    • 2022 Virginia Business Political Roundtable
    • Women in Leadership
    • Diversity Leadership Series
    • Virginia 500
    • Legal Elite
    • CFO Awards
    • Big Book of Lists
    • 100 People To Meet
    • Best Places To Work
  • Virginia 500
    • Read The Issue
    • Power Up Virginia 500
    • Buy an award plaque
    • Suggest execs for 2023

Home News Industries Hotels/Tourism Tourism, hospitality are rebounding, Youngkin says at VA1 summit

Tourism, hospitality are rebounding, Youngkin says at VA1 summit

Annual tourism industry conference is being held in Norfolk

Published November 14, 2022 by Robyn Sidersky

Gov. Glenn Youngkin speaks at a November 2022 tourism industry conference in Norfolk. Photo by Robyn Sidersky
Gov. Glenn Youngkin speaks at a November 2022 tourism industry conference in Norfolk. Photo by Robyn Sidersky

One of the big takeaways from the VA1 Governor’s Tourism Summit being held in Norfolk this week is that Virginia is ready and eager for travelers.

Travel industry professionals from around the commonwealth are gathering at Hilton Norfolk The Main through Tuesday for the ninth annual state tourism industry conference, which is presented in part by the Virginia Restaurant, Lodging & Travel Association.

The conference started Sunday and was formally kicked off Monday with an appearance by Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who announced $300,000 in matching grants to 64 small business partnerships as part of Virginia Tourism Corp.’s microbusiness marketing leveraging program. In total, more than $1 million will be spent on new marketing activity focused on small businesses and shoulder season visitation, impacting 189 combined partners and supporting more than 400 jobs, he said.

“Tourism is essential for Virginia, that we all know,” he said, noting that tourism in Virginia generated about $25 billion in visitor spending last year, supporting 185,000 jobs and contributed nearly $2 billion in state and local taxes.

“Since we’ve been open again, and Virginia has been open and thriving, the tourism industry has continued to see strong recovery along with the whole commonwealth. Over 60% of Virginia’s localities have already fully recovered from the 2019 levels of spending, and of course we see the hotel sector coming off of a strong year in 2021 for a stronger year in 2022.”

While acknowledging ongoing challenges to the tourism and hospitality industries, including workforce demand, Youngkin said, “We fully expect Virginia and its localities to see continued growth, in visitor spending, with a full recovery in 2023.”

Other state officials in attendance at the tourism conference included Virginia Secretary of Commerce and Trade Caren Merrick and Virginia Tourism Corp. President and CEO Rita McClenny. Norfolk Mayor Kenneth Alexander welcomed the conference, noting how much of an economic driver hospitality and tourism are for the city. In 2021, tourism revenue for Norfolk reached more than $1.1 billion, a 55% change over 2020, according to VisitNorfolk, a nonprofit that promotes the city.

One of the conference’s keynote speakers Monday was Carter Wilson, senior vice president of consulting and analytics with STR Inc., a division of CoStar Group Inc. that provides market data on the U.S. hospitality industry. “Uncertain times are ahead, but the industry remains resilient,” Wilson told a crowd of about 450 people.

STR is forecasting hospitality industry growth in 2023 and 2024, however Wilson cautioned that STR’s partner forecasting agency, Tourism Economics, is predicting a mild recession for the first and second quarters of 2023. And while leisure travel is back above 2019 levels, group and business travel still isn’t. He noted that the top 25 markets are the most vulnerable, and secondary or tertiary markets are not as vulnerable. The Norfolk/Virginia Beach market, he said, is 98.5% recovered, compared with 2019 levels.

Starting in summer 2021, most Virginia markets exceeded 2019 levels for revenue per available room (RevPAR), an industry standard of the health of the lodging sector, Wilson said. Occupancy is nearly recovered across Virginia, which STR breaks into four markets: Washington, D.C.; Norfolk/Virginia Beach; Richmond/Petersburg; and the rest of the state.

One factor that significantly helped the industry recover was maintaining hotel room rates. In fact, luxury hotel room rates are 30% higher than pre-pandemic, he said, citing higher labor costs. Though there are fewer workers in the hospitality industry now, labor costs are up 15% across the industry nationally.

  Subscribe to Virginia Business.   Get our daily e-newsletter.  

Related Stories

Virginia Business logo

Va. hotel revenues continue to lag from 2019 levels

October overall revenues decreased 20% from 2019, but Hampton Roads revenues 8% higher

Va. hotel revenues up slightly over 2019

NoVa continues to lag behind due to reduced biz travel

Virginia Business logo

Kings Dominion to remain open year-round

Hanover theme park adds nine weekends to operating calendar

Trending

Norfolk’s MacArthur Center mall listed for sale

Making strides

It’s back!

After the crisis

Fort Monroe development moving forward

Sponsored Stories

What Logistics issues will have the biggest impact on you in 2023?

In the New Year, Aim for Better Cybersecurity

4 innovative ways to create capacity

WHERE IS THE SUPPLY CHAIN WHEN YOU NEED IT?

P.A.I.N.T. Your Financial Mountain

5 Benefits of Treasury Management Services from Atlantic Union Bank

Blazing trails in the digital landscape

Advertisement

Advertisement

Trending

Norfolk’s MacArthur Center mall listed for sale

Making strides

It’s back!

After the crisis

Fort Monroe development moving forward

Sponsored Stories

What Logistics issues will have the biggest impact on you in 2023?

In the New Year, Aim for Better Cybersecurity

4 innovative ways to create capacity

WHERE IS THE SUPPLY CHAIN WHEN YOU NEED IT?

P.A.I.N.T. Your Financial Mountain

5 Benefits of Treasury Management Services from Atlantic Union Bank

Blazing trails in the digital landscape

Get Virginia Business directly on your tablet or in your mailbox!

Subscribe to Virginia Business

Advertisement

Advertisement

Footer Primary Menu

  • virginiabusiness.com
  • Subscribe
  • Advertise
  • About Us
  • Contact Us

Footer Secondary Menu

  • Industries
  • Regions
  • Reports
  • Company News
  • Events

Sign Up For Our Newsletter

Sign Up

LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Instagram Get Our App

Privacy Policy Cookie Policy

Footer Utility Menu

Copyright © 2023 Virginia Business. All rights reserved.

Site Maintained by TechArk

wpDiscuz