VisitPITTSBURGH’s State of the Travel Industry Provides Optimism for Local Travel and Tourism Community
Allegheny County’s Travel Economy Forecasted to Make Substantial Gains in 2022
PITTSBURGH – Allegheny County’s travel economy is forecasted to end 2022 close to 2019 levels, according to Adam Sacks, President of Tourism Economics. Sacks shared this and other key research regarding travel and tourism with members of Pittsburgh’s hospitality community at VisitPITTSBURGH’s 2022 State of the Travel Industry, held this morning at the National Aviary’s Garden Room.
According to Sacks, hotel occupancy throughout Allegheny County is forecasted to reach an average of 63% in 2022, a growth of 28% from 2021 levels. Additionally, ADR is forecasted to average $120, a growth of 5% from 2021. With the forecasted strengthening of hotel KPIs in 2022, hotel room revenue is expected to grow 30% year-over-year, reaching $521 million by year-end, which is just 10% below 2019 levels.
Sacks also noted that Tourism Economics forecasts visitor spend throughout Allegheny County to reach $6.1 billion in 2022, which is just 7% short of the $6.5 billion reached in 2019. Additionally, the tourism sector is anticipating a gain of 4,600 jobs (a 12% increase) compared to 2021 and forecasted to end 2022 with 41,816 jobs, just 5% below the 43,000 industry jobs supported in 2019.
“The travel and tourism economy across Allegheny County reached record highs in 2019,” VisitPITTSBURGH President & CEO Jerad Bachar said. “The outlook Adam provided this morning is certainly what our community is looking forward to after a tough two years.”
Dave Bratton, Founder & Managing Director for Destination Analysts, also presented this morning, sharing that while traveler safety concerns remain significant among American travelers, and that the Omicron variant continues to suppress travel, the overall excitement to travel remains high. In fact, according to the Jan. 17 Destination Analysts American Traveler Sentiment Study, 72.8% of American travelers are excited to travel in the next 12 months, with 26.2% saying they are extremely excited.
Three local experts joined Sacks and Bratton this morning to present forecasts, trends and developments impacting the Pittsburgh region, including:
- Jim Futrell, Vice President, Market Research and Analysis, Allegheny Conference on Community Development
- Edgar Largaespada, Director of Industry Strategy, Parnter4Work
- Paul Hoback, Chief Development Officer, Allegheny County Airport Authority
“It was so important for us to safely gather with our community this morning so we could learn firsthand from these experts at the onset of what should be a very critical year for the continued rebound of travel and tourism in Allegheny County,” Bachar added. “There’s incredible optimism for a sustained and strengthening rebound for the county’s tourism economy, and I look forward to working with our community leaders and partners as we welcome more visitors back to Pittsburgh.”
Follow VisitPITTSBURGH on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn, and track and spread messaging using #LovePGH.