CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Tourism records are being broken in the Coastal Bend. Translate those numbers, and they spell ‘success’ for Corpus Christi and Port Aransas.
Port A Tourism Bureau and Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Brett Stawar said the record-breaking close-to-$3 million hotel-occupancy tax collections for July means the city has recovered from both Hurricane Harvey and the COVID-19 pandemic.
"The impact for tourism in Port Aransas; it's undeniable,” Stawar said. “You've got, of course, the HOT tax itself, but when you look at our sales tax, and even for the month of July, it was up 13 percent for the city. And all these things -- visitors -- bring in money."
A recent briefing to the Corpus Christi City Council showed a record $2.7 million in hotel-occupancy tax collects for the city of Corpus Christi as well.
Short-term rental properties are getting a big share of the credit in both communities.
"We're finding the lead time for bookings is going anywhere from 90 days to 180 days out,” he said. “Folks are booking their stay with us. Some are even a year out. So the minute, especially in our Winter Texas market, they're wintering right now. The moment those folks leave they're booking for next year already."
There are estimates that our tourism may double in the next 10 years, and officials throughout the Coastal Bend are saying that they expect the growth rate to continue just like it did this past July.
"We get additional capacity on there,” said Port A business owner and Corpus Christi City Councilman Greg Smith. “That's what we need to grow. So, these projects -- we've got a couple of projects that can bring that capacity."
Smith said short-term rental developments such as Cinnamon Shores are helping the growing HOT-tax collections and two similar developments are in the works for Padre Island as well.
Visit Corpus Christi President and CEO Brett Oetting said a marketing strategy change from advertising in Texas only to nationally, and even internationally, seems to be helping the record-setting collections.
"More people are visiting Corpus Christi, staying overnight, spending money, than any other Texas coastal destination," he said.