Cleveland tourism agency slashes staff

CLEVELAND — Destination Cleveland, which agency that promotes the Cleveland area to visitors, is laying off nearly half its staff as the tourism industry struggles amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The agency said last week that most previously announced furloughs, which took effect in April, will become permanent. The number of full-time employees will drop from 65 to 36.

At the same time, the agency is refocusing its goals for the next 12 to 15 months in an effort to revive the region’s ailing tourism economy.

“We’re doing the best we can to try to figure out where the industry is going to be for the next year,” said David Gilbert, president and CEO of Destination Cleveland. Among the priorities: a short-term focus on leisure travel, with a longer-term eye on the resumption of group and business travel in the years ahead.

“We are well-positioned because we are a regional-drive, leisure-destination first,” said Gilbert. “That plays in our favor.”

The tourism agency is funded primarily by revenue from the Cuyahoga County bed tax, which is collected on hotel stays throughout the region. Since the pandemic hit the area in March, hotel occupancy in Cleveland has plummeted. Hotel occupancy in Cuyahoga County was a dismal 40.7% in the week that ended Sept. 19, according to travel data firm STR. That was down from 80.3% a year ago.

Bed tax revenue, meanwhile, was down nearly 60% through July, according to Destination Cleveland. Gilbert said that the agency’s budget, which was $19.5 million in 2019, probably will be reduced by about 40% in 2021.

The agency had set a goal of attracting a record 20 million visitors in 2020 after Cuyahoga County attracted 19.2 million visitors in 2018, the most recent figure available. Gilbert wouldn’t even guess how many visitors the city will actually draw this year. Whatever the number, Gilbert predicted that the city would come out of the crisis stronger.

“I feel like we have hit bottom and we are now back to growth,” he said. “Even though there’s still uncertainty, I feel confident about that.”

He added, “As hard as the last six months have been, it’s been inspiring to see the resilience of our staff, our partners. It makes me feel good that we’re going to come out of this, and we’re going to come out of it stronger than our competitors.”