Combating tourism troubles
Hospitality industry pushes for more aid, better communication
The tourism and hospitality sector has been decimated by the COVID-19 pandemic, facing sharp declines in business that will be slow to recover from without additional state action, industry leaders told lawmakers.
A parade of speakers outlined a dire economic picture at a Tourism, Arts and Cultural Development Committee hearing aimed at learning about the pandemic’s impact. It could take years to rebound from the widespread job losses and drop in spending, they warned.
“We’re not going to be able to wish, pray and hope our way out of this pandemic,” said Martha Sheridan, president of the Greater Boston Convention and Visitors Bureau. “It’s just not going to happen. The only way we’re going to get out of it is if we remain competitive and invest strategically in tourism promotion.”
The federal government launched a new $16 billion grant program on Thursday for shuttered venues, aiming to assist live venue operators, theatrical producers, live performing arts organization operators, museum operators, movie theater operators, and talent representatives affected by mandatory closures.
Industry leaders want the state Legislature to supplement those programs. A top priority several cited is a bill that would direct at least $200 million from the billions in federal stimulus funding Massachusetts received to help cultural organizations recover. Through Friday, 51 lawmakers had cosponsored the bill.
Another major change many said they want to see is a clearer timeline for business restrictions. Knowing when gathering limits will increase would encourage many tipped workers in the industry to return to the workforce, speakers said, and would give event venues enough lead time to ramp up operations.
“If those employees don’t see that gathering numbers are going up and in fact the number of people they’ll be serving is increasing, which will have a direct corresponding increase on their wages, the desire to return to work for them might be less,” Sheridan said.
Leisure and hospitality, as defined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, lost 30% of its jobs from February 2020 to February 2021, a far greater share than any of the nine other categories.
“We will not see a full recovery of the tourism industry in its entirety until after 2024,” said North of Boston Convention and Visitors Bureau Executive Director Ann Marie Casie.