Editorial: A decline in Hampton Roads tourism may not be cause for alarm
Tourism has been a roller coaster the last few years. First, COVID all but shut down the tourism business across the greater Hampton Roads region and the nearby Outer Banks. Then, as the pandemic waned, tourism boomed — so much, in fact, that it was all but overwhelming. Hotels and restaurants scrambled to hire enough people and handle the record crowds.
Then came this 2024 summer season, and the crowds tapered off. There’s some hope for a resurgence in autumn, but it’s unlikely to change the overall picture. Pharrell Williams canceling Virginia Beach’s three-day Something in the Water festival planned for mid-October didn’t help.
Should Virginia’s tourism industry be worried? Should everyone in the area be concerned, given that tourism, along with the defense industry and shipping in Hampton Roads, is a major driver of our economy?
Maybe it’s not such a bad thing, some leaders in the tourism industry say. They see a potential silver lining in the tapering off of the record crowds we saw immediately after the COVID lockdowns eased. The huge crowds in the last two years were not really sustainable, stretching resources and manpower nearly to the breaking point in some areas.
Tourism officials are hopeful a lull can provide a needed opportunity to regroup and rethink — to focus on sustainable ways to draw tourists and strengthen the industry for the long haul.
For one thing, the tourism boom was in some ways as much an anomaly as the COViD shutdown was. Officials in the industry have a name for it: “revenge travel.” The idea is that many people were reacting to bad fortune — the global pandemic — that had kept them at home for months, unable to travel or even have an evening out. Once restrictions were eased, they were eager to make up for lost time and opportunities.
And for many, the money they hadn’t spent on travel, dining out and entertainment during the pandemic meant they could afford to splurge. Families took advantage of those government stimulus checks to treat themselves while helping to revive the economy.
When people did start traveling and vacationing again, Virginia Beach and adjacent areas in Hampton Roads, the Outer Banks and Williamsburg were popular choices. For many, it felt safer to drive to a relatively nearby destination than to board an airplane.
That first surge of travel as people made up for what they considered lost time has now slowed down. At the same time, people exhausted the money they didn’t spend during the COVID months, and now they face the reality of higher prices for food, energy, housing and other necessities. The tourist business at midscale and economy hotels boomed for a while after the pandemic, but this year it slowed down.
The high-priced luxury hotels in Virginia Beach had higher occupancy rates this year than the economy lodgings favored by people who worry about their budgets. The cost of hotel rooms and of restaurant dining has gone up substantially across the United States. A study by J.D. Power, a consumer data analytics company, found that the average daily rate for a hotel room in the nation in May was $158.45, the second highest ever recorded, behind only the $159.01 average in October 2023.
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This year’s comparative lull in tourism may actually be, as an official with the Outer Banks Visitors Bureau told The Pilot, “the new normal.”
Now that things have slowed a bit, those in the industry have an opportunity to evaluate that new reality. They can devise fresh marketing strategies. They can consider how to make affordable vacations more attractive for middle-income families. They can devise new ways to attract conventions, conferences and other lucrative events. They can make any needed repairs and evaluate staffing.
In the process, those in the tourism industry can ensure that this important pillar of the regional economy stays healthy next year — and for many years to come.
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