State predicts strong rebound of New Hampshire’s tourism industry
Bienvenue NH sign. Courtesy
Published: 5/8/2021 9:00:06 AM
Tourism officials project that New Hampshire will welcome 3.45 million visitors this summer and rake in $1.8 billion dollars, crediting high vaccination rates and a pent-up demand for travel.
This is good news for the state’s tourism industry, which suffered from a 15% decline in visitors last summer.
New Hampshire Lodging and Restaurant Association President and CEO Mike Somers said in 2020 through November the loss in business to the hospitality and tourism industry was more than $775 million, a loss of about $70 million in rooms and meals tax.
Credit Annie Ropeik / NHPR
Seacoast tourism and business leaders want federal officials to approve more foreign visa workers and economic aid to support what they hope will be a busy summer on the tail end of the pandemic.
They spoke at a roundtable Monday in Hampton Beach with U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen.
Raimondo, the former governor of Rhode Island, was on her first official trip as U.S. Commerce Secretary. She asked what the Seacoast wants out of the latest round of pandemic stimulus money and President Biden’s proposed jobs and infrastructure plan.
Published: 2/9/2021 7:45:51 AM
The pandemic has impacted every level of tourism in New Hampshire, from leaf peeping to dining. Visitors are faced with state regulations both in New Hampshire and often in their home state as well.
It’s because of these challenges that Lori Harnois, New Hampshire Tourism Director, says, “The Division is not forecasting travel or spending for the 2020-21 winter season. Similar to summer and fall, due to COVID-19, there are many unknowns and variables with the potential to impact visitation and visitor spending, making it difficult to project those figures.”
Foliage season
When it comes to the fall season, Harnois says that the data isn’t in to truly understand how New Hampshire’s tourism marketing impacted visitation.