A recent report from Visit North Carolina reveals a 48% drop in local visitor spending for Orange County during the COVID-19 pandemic.

But as businesses reopen and tourism returns to the area, members of the Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau say Chapel Hill is poised for a vibrant comeback.

As the pandemic forced people inside and restricted travel across the country, Chapel Hill became what director of the Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau Laurie Paolicelli called “a ghost town.”

“Literally you could just throw a bowling ball through town,” she recently said to 97.9 The Hill.

In the early months of the pandemic, tourism demand in the area dropped from 80 percent to just 20 percent and the local industry saw its revenues cut by more than half.

Early projections for the 2021-2022 fiscal year show demand will likely return, but revenues are expected to stay well below pre-pandemic levels.

Paolicelli said one of the reasons recuperating the money has been difficult is lulls in business during the week.

“We’re not seeing the midweek business,” she said. “Until we get that back we won’t be at our 2019 peak numbers. But it’s coming back.”

Paolicelli said despite the loss of businesses and revenue, she sees a silver lining in the lessons of the pandemic.

One of the changes the Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau made was shifting their strategy during the pandemic to create more appeal to the local community, instead of visitors. Through marketing and enhanced communication with those already in the county, she said she believes locals have become the central driver of tourism.

“How can we package this great place we live and invite more visiting friends, people, relatives and locals to enjoy it,” Paolicelli asked. “Because it’s a great place. We’re all extraordinarily fortunate, I think we’ve all learned that.”

Changes in town like the expanded sidewalks on Franklin Street, the reopening of the Sheraton Hotel and the opening of the Sancar Turkish Cultural & Community Center are the things Paolicelli said will appeal to locals while also bringing people rushing back to Chapel Hill.

“It’s not surprising to me that the demand is back,” she said. “People want to be here. The streets are busy…what we learned more than anything is what happens when your product or your service goes to almost zero percent demand.”

To listen to the full conversation with Paolicelli on 97.9 The Hill, click here. To see the full report from Visit North Carolina, click here.

 

Photo via the Town of Chapel Hill.

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