VisitPittsburgh expects rebound in local travel & tourism industry

Monday, January 24, 2022

Pittsburgh’s official tourism marketing and promotion agency, VisitPittsburgh, expects that 2022 will be a big year for the local tourism industry as it looks to rebound from the Covid-19 pandemic.

At the agency’s 2022 State of the Travel Industry presentation on Jan. 19, President of Tourism Economics Adam Sacks, forecasted that by the end of the year, Allegheny County’s travel economy should near 2019 levels. Sacks shared that hotel occupancy in the region is expected to grow to an average of 63% in 2022, up from 28% in 2021. Hotel room revenue is also expected to grow by 30% and reach $521 million by the end of 2022, which is just 10% below year-end revenue in 2019.

Sacks also discussed outlooks for visitor spending and employment in the tourism sector. Tourists in Allegheny County are expected to spend $6.1 billion in 2022, compared to $6.5 billion in 2019. The industry is also expected to end 2022 with 41,816 jobs compared to 43,000 jobs in 2019.

Dave Bratton, the founder and managing director for Destination Analysts, also presented. Bratton shared results from the recent Destination Analysts American Traveler Sentiment Survey, which revealed that 73% of American travelers report being “excited” to travel in the next year.

VisitPittsburgh’s CEOJerad Bacharsaid that this is welcome news “after a tough two years”.

“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,” Bachar said.

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