Kentucky’s tourism industry is looking up

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Kentucky’s tourism commissioner came to SKyPAC today to speak to the Southern Kentucky Hospitality Association about the impact of tourism on the state and how it’s been rebounding since the pandemic.

Mike Mangeot, the Commissioner of Kentucky’s Tourism Department told News 40 that tourism has a huge impact on the state’s economy. Mangeot said that it wasn’t for tourism our households would be paying a few hundred dollars extra come tax time. He also said he’s excited for 2024 because there are some new projects launching. The commissioner also said that what Kentucky has over some other states would be the authenticity the state has to offer as well as the myriad of things to do, saying “you can only get Mammoth Cave here, Corvettes are only made here…”

News 40 also spoke to Michael Nunn, president of the SKYHA and general manager for the Hampton Inn. Nunn said that for him, he’s seen the hotel staffing issues go from horrible to tolerable coming off the pandemic, but everyone is still in need of help. Nunn gave a statistic saying that 83% of hotels in the nation are understaffed and he’s not sure that will be fixed any time soon.