CLEVELAND — 2020 was supposed to be a banner year for Cleveland. Destination Cleveland, the city’s tourism bureau that promotes travel to the city, was expecting the city to welcome more than 20 million visitors for the first time in a year. 

Then COVID-19 hit. 

According to data released by Destination Cleveland on Tuesday, the city saw a 30% drop in tourism in 2020. For nearly a decade, the city’s tourism growth outpaced the rest of the U.S., according to Destination Cleveland. 

In recent years, the city has been able to attract a number of major events, helping to buoy Cleveland’s tourism industry. The city attracted the 2016 Republican National Convention, 2019 MLB All-Star Game and the 2021 NFL Draft. Next year, the NBA All-Star Weekend is returning to Cleveland.

The economic impact of COVID-19 caused a 27% drop in revenue in the industry in 2020, Destination Cleveland reported. Destination Cleveland officials said tourism in other cities was similarly affected by the pandemic.

“Destination Cleveland’s work for most of 2020 focused on organization and industry survival as the impact of the global pandemic was sudden and prolonged,” said Destination Cleveland CEO David Gilbert. “What we accomplished – as a much smaller team than pre-COVID – to contribute to the industry’s rebound and recovery is a testament to the team’s commitment to the community and reflects our belief in collaboration. Now, we’re laser-focused on getting back to the foundation of our work: growing the number of visitors – all of whom bring new dollars into our community, generate tax revenue, and contribute to creating jobs for Clevelanders.”

With business travel still largely curtailed due to the pandemic and changing work habits, it could take a few years for Cleveland’s tourism industry to return to pre-pandemic levels, Destination Cleveland officials say.

“The 2020 figures – while a setback – reflect the nosedive that most destinations experienced because of the pandemic,” said Jon Pinney, chair of Destination Cleveland’s Board of Directors. “We are confident we’ll get back to growing at record-setting rates – with a return to 2019 visitor levels expected no earlier than 2024. We know we need to continue to grow at greater rates to gain more market share than our peers and recover faster than predicted.”

If travel numbers in and out of Cleveland-Hopkins International Airport are any indication, there is still some catching up to do. While the total number of passengers between June 2020 and June 2021 tripled, air travel was down 25% in June 2021 compared to June 2019, according to data from the airport.

Destination Cleveland said it is “making diversity, equity and inclusion part of how it operates to advance tourism and Cleveland’s reputation as a destination city.” The organization added it is putting together a “road map” for racial equity and inclusion. 

Destination Cleveland said that it is working on promoting Cleveland as a place to live and work. The organization said that visitors to Cleveland are more likely to relocate to the city than those who haven’t visited the city.

“We will get our visitor engine humming again, and it will continue to be a growth engine for this community,” stated Gilbert. “Just as before COVID, our best frontier is to leverage the strength of our vibrant and growing visitor economy for the long-term health of our region. We have research that shows that visitors to Cleveland are 32% more likely to consider a move to Cleveland than those who have not visited before. By proactively collaborating with community peers, we can get visitors to consider Cleveland as a place to live and work.”