By GRANT SCHULTE-Associated Press
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - Nebraska's tourism industry has lost millions of dollars in revenue to the coronavirus pandemic and will face major challenges as it tries to recover, the state's tourism director said Thursday.
Nebraska Tourism Commission Executive Director John Ricks said visitor spending was $152.6 million lower in March than it was at the same time last year. The tourism commission's revenue from a state lodging tax dropped nearly 60% as well, indicating that hotels and motels were severely hit.
"The effects have been rapid, and I'll use the word 'devastating,'" Ricks said at a news conference with Gov. Pete Ricketts.
Ricks said he's hopeful that the governor's recent moves to ease social-distancing restrictions on Monday will help, although he said the recovery will be largely driven by how much people fear the virus.
The relaxed rules will allow for larger crowds at public events. Bars and Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo, a major tourist attraction, will reopen for the first time in months. Ricketts is forging ahead even though Nebraska continues to see deaths from and confirmed cases of the coronavirus, including 10 new deaths and 357 new cases reported on Wednesday.
The state's total deaths since the outbreak began stood Thursday at 163, while total confirmed cases reached nearly 13,000, according to Nebraska's online virus tracking site.
The site also showed the virus putting pressure on the state's hospitals. Nebraska's medical centers were 43% full, with 1,662 of the state's 3,882 hospital beds still available, and 319 of the state's 737 intensive care unit beds available, according to the website.
Ricketts has said he's trying to strike a balance between protecting the public and keeping businesses and jobs afloat.
Ricks, the tourism director, said he expects a gradual return to normal, given that many residents are staying away from large public gatherings out of fear that could catch or spread the virus.
He said travel industry officials predict that most tourists won't want to venture very far at first and will likely travel by car, "and that bodes well for Nebraska."
Unlike major tourism centers, Nebraska has traditionally relied on in-state travelers and visitors from neighboring states. Ricks said the state's official tourism website has seen a bump in traffic during the pandemic, while most other states have reported declines.
"There's a lot of pent-up demand out there," Ricks said. "People want to go out and do things."
Meanwhile, the new numbers came as a nursing home in central Nebraska emerged as a hot spot for the virus, the Omaha World-Herald reported Thursday. Westfield Quality Care of Aurora, just east of Grand Island, has seen 13 of its 64 residents die of the virus, while 33 have tested positive. Another 24 employees at the home also have been infected by the virus.
For some infected people, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, the virus can cause severe illness or death. But for most people, it causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough, that clear up in two to three weeks.