Minnesota’s tourism industry hit hard by COVID-19 pandemic in 2020

As expected, Minnesota’s tourism industry took a big hit from the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 as interstate travel all but evaporated and many people were kept home by government lockdown orders.  KAUS spoke with John Edman, Director of Explore Minnesota who stated that the downturn in the state’s multi-billion dollar tourism industry has had a wide-ranging impact around the state…

Edman went on to state that there is light at the end of the tunnel concerning the tourism industry’s recovery…

In a recent report released by Tourism Economics, hotels and related businesses in metro areas in Minnesota suffered the most in 2020, largely due to widespread cancellations, postponements or digital overhauls of conventions, weddings and similar events. Resorts, campgrounds and similar businesses in rural or wilderness areas fared much better as Minnesotans, avoiding air travel and working remotely, hit the road for vacation.  A post-summer survey of 307 lodging businesses, conducted by Explore Minnesota found that 61 percent of respondents reported lower revenue last summer compared to the previous year. The rest said revenue was actually up.  Edman says if things don’t turn around more than half of businesses could face solvency issues in the next four to six months.