INDIANAPOLIS (WTHR) — Conventions and tourism are the economic engines which drive Indianapolis, but COVID-19 has brought that to a screeching halt with widespread implications.
The Indiana Convention Center closed March 17, with more than 115 events canceled since then. They include the Black Expo Summer Celebration, the Indiana Comic Convention and Gen Con, the city's largest and most lucrative convention. Gen Con draws 70,000 people with an economic impact of $76 million.
Chris Gahl, Senior Vice President with Visit Indy, said so far, the losses total "more than $200 million in economic impact, and that stings, those are real numbers."
Visit Indy works to draw conventions and visitors to the city. He said the loss of events due to the pandemic is well beyond anything they've seen before.
"There's no comparison," Gahl said. "It's devastating, and the ripple effect on the tourism industry won't be felt and truly known economically and otherwise for months to come."
But he said hotel occupancy is a key indicator, and right now, it's at record lows.
The JW Marriott, the city's largest hotel, and the Conrad Hotel are among those closed for now.
Gahl said hotels that remain open are operating at single-digit occupancy. Most guests are health care workers, people visiting family members or those in "the supply chain" like truck drivers.
He said in normal times, hotel occupancy usually hovers around 70 percent.
"That stings, that's devastating," Gahl said. "Those are real financial impacts that ripple out to the central Indiana residents normally earning paychecks and taking them home to feed their families.
He said 83,000 Hoosiers work in tourism and hospitality in central Indiana, and not just at restaurants and hotels. Think about cab and ride-sharing drivers, those who provide flower arrangements or entertainment for luncheons or dinners and the companies hired to dry clean clothes and linens for hotels.
Gahl said Visit Indy continues to work with groups, still on the fence waiting to see how things look beyond summer and into fall.
"As it stands now, the major conventions and events left to get us through the end of 2020 remains at 16," he said.
That includes the FFA convention in October and the PRI trade show in December, events right up there with Gen Con.
While it's impossible to predict whether things will open up by then, Gahl said they're also encouraging those who may cancel to consider postponing their event to 2021 or later.
Gahl said Visit Indy also initiated an Indy Tourism Recovery Task Force, which has been meeting weekly for three weeks.
"We want to be sure best practices are in place," he said. "We're having a real discussion on when it's safe to re-open, how do we do that, and how do we reassure visitors we're safe and ready for business."