In FY 2019, the lodging industry generated approximately $130M in state occupancy taxes, essentially flat from the prior year. The Connecticut tourism industry has been hampered by inconsistent funding for statewide marketing. Connecticut consistently lags behind the rest of our New England competitive set in terms of RevPAR (revenue per available room).
As of February 2020, there were eighteen hotels in the pipeline for Greater New Haven, and Workforce Alliance was applying for grants to fund the Hospitality Career Initiative.
The travel and tourism industry has been devastated by the public health crisis. With the steep decline in both leisure and business travel, many lodging facilities were forced to shutter at least temporarily. How long it will take for the industry to recover is unknown, but according to the American Hotel & Lodging Association and STR (the global leader in lodging data collection and analysis), the timeframe is expected to exceed the post-9/11 recovery. The American Hotel & Lodging Association is not expecting a full recovery until 2024 as of January 2021.