The coronavirus pandemic is having a major impact on the economy, worldwide and locally.
The travel industry is taking a particularly big hit, and in Rochester, it was announced recently that the Holiday Inn on State Street will close temporarily.
Some other hotels remain open. At the local tourism group, Visit Rochester, spokesperson Rachel Laber Pulvino said that even for the hotels that stay open, they can’t hold conventions and their regular bookings are down.
“Hotels are considered an essential business, per Governor Cuomo’s directive over the weekend. However, that is to say that many of the hotels have had to reduce staff, folks are being furloughed and certainly the occupancy is low at this time.
Laber said her organization will eventually gear up to come up with plans to try and attract tourists again when the state lifts its restrictions.
“When the travel industry does pick up again, it’s going to be those drive-in markets, like ours that people are going to be wanting to travel to. Travel experts anticipate that long-haul destinations are going to be seeing a slower return to business,” Laber said.
Laber said that in 2018, the last year numbers were available, the tourism industry in Monroe County had an economic impact of more than $1 billion and was responsible for 20,000 jobs.
Laber said that Visit Rochester is spending time now trying to help promote local businesses and organizations like restaurants and museums. They have established a campaign on social media, #LocalROCs
