Last year, 12.7 million visitors came to the city and Douglas County. That total represents a 95% rebound to the record level of 2019 — the last full year before the COVID-19 pandemic hit — when 13.4 million visitors came to the city.
Lodging and recreation were two of the biggest industries that rebounded from tough years in 2020. Tourists collectively spent more than $252 million on lodging in 2021. That was 94% more money than they spent on lodging in 2020 and just 5% below 2019 levels.
Tourists spent $191 million on recreation in 2021. That marked a 40% increase compared to 2020.
The increased number of tourists and tourism spending also led to an increase in the number of jobs in the community. The number of jobs at hotels, restaurants, retailers and attractions increased by 1,100 for a total of 10,450 as a direct result of visitor spending in 2021.
The job total represents just 80% of what the city and county enjoyed before the pandemic. The convention and visitors bureau said employers struggled to fill positions in 2021.
Louie wrote: Wed Oct 26, 2022 2:13 pm
Certainly good to see it almost at pre-pandemic levels last year. Wonder if it will surpass in 2022.
That was my thought/question as well. I would think it would be even higher in 2022. If you look at the numbers at Eppley that should be a good indicator.
Craig Nigrelli
Omaha hotels, restaurants, and other businesses are reaping the rewards of Omaha hosting the women’s NCAA Volleyball Final Four.
The executive director of Visit Omaha tells 6 News that hosting the finals of the tournament is worth millions of dollars when it comes to economic impact.
Deb Ward says most of the downtown hotels are full. Visit Omaha estimates the pomp and circumstance of fans coming from all over the country for the Final Four and spending the long weekend in Omaha here means almost $8 million for the local economy.
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In addition, the American Volleyball Coaches Association is holding its convention at the same facility, the CHI Health Center, in conjunction with the Final Four. Visit Omaha says more than 2,000 people are in town for that specific event.
We were downtown last night and noticed that a lot of bars and restaurants were pretty busy. I completely forgot the Final Four was this weekend. Anyway, it's always nice to see tourism get a boost by events like this.
For sure. It's not a popular opinion, but I'm glad Nebraska didn't make the Final Four. It means more folks from out of town, more hotel rooms booked, flights, and more outside $$ pumped into the economy.
Omaha hotels posted record revenue in 2022, a sign they're bouncing back from the disastrous days of the pandemic.
Leisure travel has returned stronger than business and convention travel, a city official said.
Weighing against those higher revenues are rising costs for labor and supplies, as well as continuing inflation concerns that may be stifling travel plans for some people.
Omaha hotel revenue hit $251 million in 2022, up 25% from 2021. Before the pandemic in 2019 — a fairly average year for Omaha hotels — revenue was $219 million.
Mayor Jean Stothert noted the hotel revenue surge among the bright spots in her recent State of the City address, calling it an "all-time high."
Molly Hudson
"In the first four months of this year we are $8 million more than last year, which was record-breaking, so I think the streak is continuing," said Deborah Ward, executive director of Visit Omaha.
Ward said 2022 was really a rebound year for Omaha, with hotel revenue last year up $51 million.
"It's twofold, seeing Omaha do so well, hearing that we are having a record-breaking year, but also from a hotel standpoint we really get to showcase the city," said Shane Lonowski, general manger of The Farnam hotel.
He says they too are on track for a record-breaking year.
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"We are projecting this summer to be about 10% higher in occupancy, and in demand and in revenue over last year, which again was record-breaking," Ward said.
Visit Omaha targets its advertising regionally, in cities like Des Moines, Kansas City, Sioux Falls, Chicago and Minneapolis. They said 600,00 more people visited last year than the year before from those five cities.
Cindy Gonzalez
Concert-goers lined up from places ranging from Texas, Minnesota and even the United Kingdom when the Steelhouse opened recently as Omaha Performing Arts’ third major venue.
Hotels and diners in the area welcomed the $100 million-plus music hall to the downtown neighborhood via social media that also let visitors know their businesses were just a skip away.
It’s the kind of bustle that calls for job reinforcements and support staff. And according to new employment data and industry experts, it’s a momentum growing in leisure, recreation and arts circles elsewhere in Nebraska, too.
“We have seen the industry come roaring back since COVID,” said Joan Squires, president of Omaha Performing Arts, also known as O-pa. “We’ve rehired the positions we had to lay off and we’ve added.”
Indeed, the latest from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that employment in Nebraska’s leisure and hospitality industry not only surpassed the pre-pandemic high earlier this year, but around March it exceeded 97,000 for the first time.
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Nebraska’s tourism director, John Ricks, says demand for recreation and other state attractions is rising. Tourism spending in the state grew, he said, from nearly $3.6 billion in 2021 to $4.4 billion in 2022.
Nebraska hosted about 500,000 more overnight guests in 2022 than the year before
Things like this lead me to believe even more that that population estimates that the city has lost people are completely wrong. Clearly Omaha and the surrounding area are growing. Not going to say booming, but if these numbers of people employed in the industry are the highest they have ever been, I wouldn't think we have lost population at all.
skinzfan23 wrote: Tue Jun 13, 2023 2:31 pm
Things like this lead me to believe even more that that population estimates that the city has lost people are completely wrong. Clearly Omaha and the surrounding area are growing. Not going to say booming, but if these numbers of people employed in the industry are the highest they have ever been, I wouldn't think we have lost population at all.
Census estimate for 2021-2022 does show the metro is growing. Sarpy and Saunders were robust at 1.4% while Washington had a nice .8%. The estimates that showed we were losing was in a very demographic, and that was at a statewide level. The other thing to consider is that many people were still "sitting out" of employment. There are reports that more people have been getting back into the work market. That includes parents of young children, particularly women, retirees that now need to work because of rising cost of living, or teenagers working for the first time.
Erin Bamer
In Douglas County alone, 2022 was a five-year high with 13.5 million visitors, said Jasmyn Goodwin, vice president of marketing and communications for Visit Omaha. Most recent years have been nearly as high; only the first pandemic year of 2020 was much lower, and the county still logged 10.9 million that year.
Sabin said there are several reasons for the growing visitation. He listed several popular tourist attractions, such as Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium, Omaha’s RiverFront and the Kiewit Luminarium.
2019 was a record breaking year at 13.4 million. 2022 just broke that. Hopefully 2023 is even better.
"We had more people visiting this city than ever before, more people from the airport, filled more hotel rooms than ever, highest hotel revenue recorded in history."
Ward says the record-breaking hotel revenue brought in $282 million. Overall, tourists spent $1.5 billion here last year. Ward says it was a 5% jump from 2023.
"In fact, for the first six months of this year, we have about $56 million worth of youth sporting events happening," said Ward. "We are kind of a mecca for these youth sports, sporting events, and that's why we're looking at expanding Tranquility Park and Levi Carter Park project. That will help us promote to more youth sporting events."
