Visit Duluth Releases July Tourism Numbers

DULUTH, Minn.– Visit Duluth, the city’s primary marketing operation, is transitioning furloughed staff to temporary layoffs on October 1st as tourism tax revenue continues to be far below normal projections.

Five positions will have temporary layoffs while one position will have a permanent layoff.

Visit Duluth has announced at least six furloughed staff members will be officially laid off by November.

This comes as hotel, motel, food and beverage tax revenue is down 35 percent compared to this time last year. And it comes as the city of Duluth is facing a projected budget shortfall of at least $25 million for 2020.

But at the same time, Visit Duluth says the hospitality industry is showing some signs of recovery since the pandemic hit.

“These are all signs that point to what turned out to be a very good summer,” said Visit Duluth President and CEO Anna Tanski. “However, we really want to be cautious in our enthusiasm because we are bracing for what will be a very challenging fall.”

Visit Duluth’s CEO says the average daily room rate for hotels in the city was up 2% from the week before.

“That was the first time we saw an increase over 2019 since mid-March,” Tanski said.