Charlotte leaders discuss tourism recovery

CHARLOTTE — Before the pandemic, Charlotte was mainly a Sunday to Thursday city for visitors. Business travel dominated the tourism scene. But a panel of tourism experts told the Charlotte City Council Tuesday that now more people are visiting Charlotte on the weekends.

Charlotte tourism leaders say they have made great progress in recovering after the pandemic. Hotel owner Vinay Patel says his biggest problem is hiring workers.

“We can’t find people to work, that is an industry-wide issue,” he said.

Patel credits high-profile events for bringing people to Charlotte and business back to his hotels.

One of those events was the Immersive Van Gogh exhibit from Blumenthal. CEO Tom Gabbard says it was the largest attended immersive exhibit in North America, which helped pave the way back for arts in Charlotte. Gabbard says the crowds have returned but one concern they have is the crime in the area.

City leaders did not address those concerns directly.

“We have heard from our ticket buyers’ concerns about coming out of the Belk Theatre and going down Tryon Street to visit restaurants,” he said.

Last year, the Charlotte City Council approved hundreds of millions to upgrade the Spectrum Center. Hornets President Fred Whitfield hopes the renovations will help Charlotte land high-profile sporting events and concerts over other cities in North and South Carolina.

“Investing in our building will continue to help us out-book all of these cities,” he said.

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