Memphis Tourism’s effort to bring visitors back after the COVID-19 travel shutdown hit an unexpected bump in the road in the civil rights protests that have rocked the city, particularly Downtown.

But it could have been worse.

Kane: Record year for Memphis tourism stopped day global pandemic declared

Officials cited the relatively nonviolent nature of the protests so far, which puts Memphis in a positive light compared to cities where violence and property damage has been widespread.

“In light of a very challenging situation, Memphis has been about as good as you can hope in a very difficult situation,” Memphis Tourism president and chief executive Kevin Kane said.

“Our protests for the most part have been positive, they have been peaceful and mindful. Our leaders ... are listening, are saying ‘We’re here to work this out,’ ” Kane said.

As the agency rolls out advertising aimed at visitors living within a 600-mile radius, Kane said, “That challenging situation, in kind of a strange sort of way, is a positive for Memphis, when you look and see what’s going on in other parts of the country.”

Greater Memphis Chamber president and chief executive Beverly Robertson agreed.

“Memphis stands up higher than most cities in the country, because we have had peaceful protests. But beyond that, we need to deal with the core issues that create the need for a protest. That we must do, and we must do it collectively,” Robertson said.

Robertson has been talking with city and county mayors about “how do we address the demands of the protesters?” While protest leadership is “rather fractured, nonetheless, they’ve got legitimate concerns and legitimate demands and they’re tired of fighting.”

“I understand that, but I also understand that the only way you’re going to get a solution is by working together, all of us. Because the future of our city is at stake,” said Robertson, who was previously chief executive of the National Civil Rights Museum.

Memphis Tourism’s latest research showed the Memphis protests were showing up in 28% of social media mentions of Memphis, said Ashley McHugh, the agency’s research director.

COVID-19 comeback

The impact of recent civil disorder was discussed during a tourism industry update on the coronavirus recovery on Wednesday, June 3.

Memphis Tourism officials are banking on a rising tide of vacationers from within a day’s drive to fuel a comeback from the COVID-19 pandemic’s economic devastation. They outlined plans to spend about $500,000 marketing Memphis to regional audiences, primarily with digital advertising, focusing on 300- to 600-mile radius.

Acknowledging uncertainty about when the pandemic will run its course, tourism officials pointed to a few signature events that have not been canceled as opportunities to reverse some of COVID-19’s economic damage.

The events — the 2020 World Golf Championship-FedEx St. Jude Invitational July 29-Aug. 2, the World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest Sept. 30-Oct. 3, Beale Street Music Festival Oct.16-18 and AutoZone Liberty Bowl Dec. 31 — couldn’t be held under today’s social distancing restrictions, which prohibit purposeful gatherings of 50 or more people.

But the industry, which nets $3.6 billion a year and employs 49,000, is hoping there will be a steady rebound of travel from the surrounding region as restrictions are relaxed and people take to the roads after being cooped up by shelter-at-home orders.

New normal

The meeting at The Peabody Wednesday doubled as an example of how business meetings can be held under strict social distancing requirements.

Participants wore face masks, sat at least six feet apart and were furnished with individually packaged beverages, meals and snacks, rather than congregating at food buffets and coffee service.

2 Downtown hotels temporarily close

“We wanted to show it can be done,” said Doug Browne, president of Peabody Hotels & Resorts.

The setup, which used only a portion of the Continental Ballroom, also showed how far away a full recovery is. Forty people were seated in a space that normally would have seated 250 in the same format, without social distancing considerations.

The business of hosting corporate meetings and conventions is a proven generator of room demand for full-service hotels like The Peabody, but national meeting business was hard hit when COVID-19 pushed executives into virtual meetings such as Zoom.

When the pandemic hit in March, national meeting planners moved events scheduled for the spring in Memphis into the fall, but they have since delayed those meetings again, at least into 2021, Kane said.

Global appeal

International travel has also halted. Graceland, which draws large numbers of foreign visitors, isn’t looking for significant international tourism to resume until a vaccine is generally available, or at least next spring.

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Under current restrictions from the Memphis and Shelby County Back to Business plan, Graceland is limited to 25% of capacity.

A Graceland spokeswoman said the Elvis Presley attraction has been drawing about 500 people on weekend days, close to the 25% cap, but weekday crowds haven’t been as large.

With business and international travel off the table for now, Memphis Tourism is aiming digital marketing efforts at regional population centers.

McHugh said target audiences include under 40 year olds in Nashville, Little Rock, Birmingham, Atlanta and Chicago; families in St. Louis and Dallas; and over 40 year olds in Houston.

Here’s a video produced by Running Pony Productions for the campaign:

Advertising also is being aimed at people closer in, Tupelo and Jackson, Mississippi, Paducah, Kentucky, and Jonesboro, Arkansas, who normally would make day trips and not spend the night in Memphis, McHugh said.

Chief marketing officer Regena Bearden said the goal of advertising is generating hotel stays, because full hotels mean business for restaurants and tourist attractions.

The ad campaigns are touting great deals on hotel rooms as a lure to get people to stay overnight.

Empty beds

Citywide hotel occupancies have ticked back up into the 40% range after falling as low 10% earlier in the pandemic. Hotels would typically be about 70% occupied as the Memphis in May International Festival shifts into Memorial Day and the official summer travel season begins.

Downtown hotels haven’t rebounded as much, because they have a higher concentration of upper-scale properties, and occupancy across the nation has been bouncing back stronger in economy, limited service and extended stay hotels.

Memphis was on a pace for a record year in tourism before the pandemic hit, with visitors averaging more than a million a month.

A best-case scenario for recovery in hotel room demand, performed by Tourism Economics, now shows it could be June 2021 before demand returns to the pre-pandemic pace. Kane said he hopes hotel room occupancy will return to 90% of normal levels by the end of the year.

“It’s a moving target,” Kane said. “Our industry seems to be coming back a little bit slower because of staggered openings around the country. Now, with the social unrest, that’s going to hurt us, that will set us back, because people won’t be traveling.”