Ocean City's boardwalk is open and Myrtle Beach restaurants have resumed dine-in services. Here's how some of the most popular US resort towns are welcoming back visitors after the coronavirus shutdown.
Hillary Hoffower
- States that have begun reopening have already seen business in their tourist destinations.
- The hotel occupancy rate in the US has increased since the first weekend of relaxed restrictions, according to The Real Deal.
- From Myrtle Beach to Ocean City, resort towns are slowly reopening in hopes of relieving some of their economic pain.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
States that have begun reopening are already seeing promising activity in their tourist destinations.
After hotel occupancy plummeted in the weeks following the pandemic, it experienced a slight uptick during the first weekend of relaxed restrictions. The hotel occupancy rate in the US was 28.6% percent the last week of April, compared to 26% the prior week, according to The Real Deal, citing hospitality data firm STR.
"The first 'real weekend' with eased COVID-19 restrictions showed an obvious jump in hotel demand, especially in popular, warm-weather leisure spots," Jan Freitag, STR's senior vice president of lodging insights, told The Real Deal.
More resort towns across the US are following suit, slowly reopening their economies in hopes of bringing in tourism dollars. Consider Ocean City, Maryland, which reopened its beaches and boardwalk on Saturday.
From Lake Tahoe to Myrtle Beach, here are some of the resort towns trying to reopen.
Read the original article on Business InsiderIn fact, many resort towns in Texas, Florida, and Georgia, have reopened in accordance with their states' reopening measures.
Texas, Florida, and Georgia all began reopening their economies the same month they shut them down — in April. In these states, many coastal cities are considered resort towns. Here are just a few that have begun rolling out reopening measures.
Texas:
Florida:
Georgia:
And, while New Jersey has yet to ease stay-at-home restrictions, Atlantic City is already preparing for the day it happens. Casino hotels in the area are now accepting reservations for June 1 and later.
But other resort towns have been open for more than a week. Consider South Padre Island, Texas, which reopened two weeks ago.
South Padre Island in Texas reopened its beaches and parks on April 25, Nathaniel Puente reported for local outlet Wane. However, there are curfews in place and beachgoers must wear masks, practice social distancing, and stay in groups of five or less.
In a press release, South Padre Island Mayor Patrick McNulty said that the six weeks following the pandemic were "extremely difficult" as the local economy is "dependent on tourism."
The resort town received backlash for its packed beaches during spring break season.
And Lake Tahoe in California is trying to reopen.
Lake Tahoe City Council recently voted to send a letter to California Gov. Gavin Newsom asking officials to lift shelter-in-place restrictions in the city.
On Friday, according to Tahoe Daily Tribune, the governor implemented the early stages of phase two of his four-part reopening plan. That includes allowing some low-risk businesses to open for curbside service.
However, he's allowing some counties to move through the second half of the plan if they meet guidelines laid out by the California Department of Public Health. El Dorado County, where Lake Tahoe is located, said they're almost ready to do this, the Tahoe Daily Tribune reported.
Cindy Gustafson, a supervisor in Placer County, which also neighbors Lake Tahoe, told Leila Miller for the Los Angeles Times that the area is focusing on crafting social distancing and mask use messaging.
Meanwhile, neighboring tourist towns near Lake Tahoe like Truckee, California, are preparing for the day they can reopen.
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, resumed dine-in services on Monday.
On Monday, restaurants in Myrtle Beach will be allowed to reopen inside dining at 50% capacity. South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster announced Friday he would be lifting his coronavirus executive order which limited restaurants to takeout and delivery.
Restaurants still need to abide by restrictive guidelines, such as spacing out tables, but it's unclear whether the state will reinforce these rules, according to David Wetzel for Myrtle Beach Online.
Ocean City, Maryland, reopened its beaches and boardwalk over the weekend.
Ocean City mayor Rick Meehan reopened the city's beaches and boardwalk on Saturday, reported Kelly Powers for Salisbury Times. The reopening does not directly affect Maryland's stay-at-home order. Social distancing is still mandatory and gatherings of over 10 people aren't allowed.
Weekend beachgoers came in from neighboring states, according to Powers, but kept their distance on the boardwalk. The beach, she wrote, was "relatively untouched." However, some reopened businesses, such as the popular Thrasher's Fries, saw crowds of patrons.
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