CLEVELAND, Ohio — Destination Cleveland’s Emily Lauer says the goal of “Be a Tourist in Your Hometown Weekend" is to encourage local residents to get out and explore “The Land."
- Destination Cleveland’s second annual “Be a Tourist in your Hometown Weekend" would have kicked off Friday
- Due to coronavirus precautions, the postponed series of events will take on a new form
- Despite the financial impact of the cancellation, Destination Cleveland hopes to keep people engaged and excited about the city
“We would have had activities and activations all around the area in partnership with so many of our great activities and experiences here in Cleveland,” Lauer says.
But now, the convention and visitors bureau is facing the reality that Clevelanders have no choice but to stay home due to COVID-19 precautions.
Lauer says residents can still connect with their hometown this weekend — with help from the internet.
“Think of it now as support your hometown weekend. Residents can still learn about Cleveland like we wanted them to during the “Be a Tourist in your Hometown Weekend,” but in a different way. So many of our attractions and experiences are offering virtual experiences for folks. I know the Great Lakes Science Center has their Curiosity Corner on Facebook and the Cleveland Metroparks have some great online experiences, the Cleveland Museum of Art, their amazing collection is available online, the Museum of Natural History, Children's Museum,“ Lauer said.
And to try and further support these institutions, Destination Cleveland has put together a COVID-19 Tourism Industry Resource Kit.
“The travel and tourism industry has been one of the hardest hit industries so far in the COVID-19 pandemic. Virtually overnight, people stopped traveling and what that did is it leaves hotels with single-digit occupancy, and it affects nearly 71,000 jobs in the Northeast Ohio area,” Lauer said. “Someone can just go to that page and click to so many of the different programs that could be of assistance to them as a business or organization or to their employees, if they have had to do furloughs or layoffs in this difficult time.”
Lauer says she can’t begin to speculate the long-term economic impact COVID-19 restrictions will have on the city's attractions and tourism revenue. She says the restrictions have already impacted some highly anticipated events.
“We were also, of course, gearing up for Dingus Day, a great celebration in the Detroit Shoreway neighborhood, the day after Easter. Rock Hall inductions was in early May, which will be in early November, and then in early June, we were going to have Parade the Circle, which is a fantastic family-friendly event in University Circle every year that the Museum of Art sponsors, and my understanding is that, that has been cancelled,” said Lauer.
Lauer says over the last two years, tourism numbers have been high. She's not sure what 2020 will look like, but she's hopeful that once able to do so safely, Clevelanders will continue to be tourists and supporters of their hometowns.
“Last fall, we announced that 19.2 million visitors had come to Cleveland in 2018, and things were looking good for 2019, and so we'll have that number… I think that while our numbers are likely to be a bit off for 2020, all will not be lost,” Lauer said.