CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A record-breaking number of people stayed in Corpus Christi over the Memorial Day weekend.
Local tourism-industry leaders expect a record-breaking Fourth of July weekend, as well.
Over 29,000 rooms were booked by visitors over the three-day weekend.
Local hotel operators said because the July 4 holiday falls in the middle of the week, that they're expecting even more tourists.
"People are off in the middle of the week, so they want to extend their time during the weekday,” said Embassy Suites General Manager Melody Nixon-Bice. “So, we may even see a pattern of people coming over the weekend, but then you have a whole ‘nother set of travelers that are coming in during those weekdays."
The city's marketer, Visit Corpus Christi, just released figures showing Corpus Christi saw a 3 percent increase in room occupancy compared to 2022.
Bookings on AirBNB experienced a 6-percent increase, while VRBO bookings saw a 7-percent increase. And the USS Lexington achieved a record-breaking weekend, with 9,932 visitors from Friday to Monday.
United Chamber of Commerce President Al Arreola Jr. said besides more widespread marketing, he sees it as residents embracing our military.
"A sense of military pride -- whether you're talking about Memorial Day or 4th of July -- we are seeing as a community, I think, embraces the military and families of the military and veterans. And I think we're getting those rewards reciprocated by people wanting to come spend time with us."
Visit Corpus Christi also noted traffic on the Harbor Bridge, compared to 2021 and 2022 Memorial Day weekends, showed a 6-percent increase.
Hotel operator Kamlesh Bhikha said his business is coming back.
"We are getting a little bit more,” he said. “Not to the point we were in 2019. We're not there yet but we're better than last year."
Visit Corpus Christi predicts that occupancy for the Fourth of July will be at more than 75 percent, an increase of just over 6 percent from June.
Nixon-bice said the city is getting a better reputation every season.
"You can go and kind of do things inexpensively,” she said. “Corpus Christi is known for having really nice attractions that are not too expensive."
With hotel and short-term rentals, the city has outperformed Galveston, South Padre Island, and Port Aransas.