In another sign Route 66 is recovering after the COVID-19 pandemic, Amarillo reported stronger-than-expected tourism numbers in late 2020.
KAMR-TV in Amarillo got some interesting data from the Amarillo Convention and Visitors Bureau:
What they saw was last quarter of 2020 numbers outperforming numbers they saw in 2019, which itself was a growth year for Amarillo. In 2019, Amarillo’s tourism industry had over 9,000 workers that it supported. Before 2019, Smith said, the Amarillo travel and tourism industry saw three years of steady growth.
Although the COVID-19 pandemic brought the world to its knees, the desire for people to travel, was the one thing that never waned. And Amarillo fared better for it.
“We very fast got an understanding that people wanted to travel whether they could or not,” Smith said. “So what we saw was as the airlines declined, we were the perfect spot for people to get in the car with their family, and take a weekend trip. So we actually started seeing recovery at the fourth quarter of last year (2020).”
Visitors to the Amarillo area spent $919.6 million in Amarillo city limits in 2019. That’s over $2.5 million a day pumping into the local economy. Travelers also generated $81.4 million in tax revenue. That’s 61% of the area’s total tax revenue.
A travel surge and more tourists wanting to drive than fly for vacation matches what moteliers are reporting here on the ground in Tucumcari, New Mexico.
The best news about this is Route 66 doesn’t even have European or other foreign travelers this summer because the borders remain closed (for now) because of the virus. Those international tourists usually make up a substantial portion of Route 66 tourism.
So it’s likely a tourism surge will continue in 2022 once the foreign travelers are allowed to come to the U.S. Shortly after that, another surge of travelers is expected in the time leading up to Route 66’s centennial in 2026.
(Image of a Texas Route sign in Amarillo by Tony Hisgett via Flickr)