The total could be a quarter of that in 2020, Edmiston said. The Visitors Bureau estimated a $800 million regional impact from tourism in 2019. The Convention and Visitors Bureau tracked a 40% boost in those jobs by the end of summer, but the impacts of hurricanes Laura and Delta have brought job numbers back to the March levels. There were around 25,000 jobs in the hospitality industry in Lake Charles before the pandemic struck in earnest in March, reducing it down to below 10,000 in May. That will be a balancing act with so many workers displaced, he added. If there is a habitable hotel room in the city, Edmiston said, it is likely it is occupied by a lineman, relief volunteer or contractor.Įdmiston said businesses continue to support those workers and residents left without kitchens or the ability to fix regular meals.
That’s not to say Lake Charles doesn’t have out-of-area guests right now. “First, we’re going to have to get people back in their homes second, open businesses and the third task, the CVB has to do their job and bring back the visitors,” he said.Įdmiston suspects it will be eight months before the area can begin reasonably accommodating visitors and another eight months before Lake Charles starts to resemble the destination that guests are used to. Kyle Edmiston, president and CEO of the Lake Charles/Southwest Louisiana Convention and Visitors Bureau, said petrochemicals and tourism drive almost everything in his region, which is why the hospitality industry will have a massive role in the recovery to come.
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The resumption of those jobs will provide some stability for returning storm victims, but local tourism experts expect a full recovery will take time. Three of the four casinos in that part of hard-hit Louisiana were open by late week. Lake Charles’ vital tourism industry has started to reopen, raising hopes for thousands of storm-weary residents still putting their lives back together under a sea of blue-tarped roofs. (Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA / AFP) (Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images) CHANDAN KHANNA, Contributor / AFP via Getty Images Weary Louisiana residents emerged to sunny skies October 10, 2020, as they began to assess the damage wrought by the second devastating storm to roar through in two months, Hurricane Delta, now a tropical storm. Hurricane Delta made landfall as a Category 2 storm in Louisiana initially leaving some 300,000 customers without power. Comments Aerial view of devastated houses after Hurricane Delta passed through the area near Lake Charles, Louisiana on October 10, 2020.
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