Tourism industry starts to pick up as spring approaches

BOWLING GREEN, Ky.- We are still in a pandemic. But tourism in Bowling Green is already looking a lot different than it was a year ago. 

“People are getting vaccinated, events are starting to book again, sports are starting to come back to town, we’ve seen an uptake in travel,” said Marriott area sales manager Telia Butler.

“We have seen more travelers over the last couple of months, and with a pent-up demand for leisure travel — especially to destinations like Bowling Green that have a combination of great outdoor and indoor attractions — we expect to see more travelers in the future,” Beth Noffsinger, Communications Director for the Bowling Green Area Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Hotels have seen a steady increase of people booking overnight stays. Last year, hotels were hovering around only 20% occupancy. 

“Occupancy now is probably around 50 or so percent. So it’s way better than what we were, and definitely better than last March. We’re feeling a lot more positive about the tourism and hospitality industry at this point,” said Butler.

And popular tourist attractions like the National Corvette Museum have seen more people too. 

“It’s been a while since we’ve had this many visitors here, and it feels good to have this many people come in and experience the museum for the first time or maybe they’ve been here before and they’re excited to see what we did last year,” said NCM Media and Communications director Mariah Hughes.

This month in particular is busy for Bowling Green because of people on spring break.

“We know many schools in Tennessee are already on spring break, but we typically see more spring break travelers in late March or early April. We are hoping many Kentuckians will consider spending their spring breaks exploring other parts of the commonwealth, including Bowling Green. It’s a great opportunity to support local businesses with your travel dollars,” said Noffsinger.

“Being located right off I-65, it makes it easy for people to find us and a great destination for a pit stop as well,” said Hughes.