MOLINE, Ill. — There is one good sign that the Summer of 2021 will be one of big recoveries for local businesses.
The hotel occupancy rate reached 71% during the weekend on May 15.
"These last 14, 15 months have been brutal but hopefully there's some light at the end of the tunnel," said Dave Herrell,president and Chief Executive Officer of Visit Quad Cities said on "News 8 THIS WEEK with Jim Mertens".
"I still think we need to be cautiously optimistic but we need to do the things that are going to put our community in a safe and responsible environment," he said.
You can hear our entire interview with Visit Quad Cities' Dave Herrell on THE CITIES PODCAST.
From huge events like the Bix to smaller outdoor gatherings, we may be ready to have a far better summer than last year.
"I do think people are ready to go out there and just make these human connections," said Herrell.
Last year, an estimated $1 trillion dollars may have been lost worldwide due to the pandemic.
And there now appears to be pent up demand.
"I think the indicators are strong," said Herrell.
"I think people in terms of their feeling toward tourism and the activity and then as we see more and more things coming on line I think that consumer confidence is just continuing to grow."
And the coming weeks could be an even bigger indicator of how good a Summer the tourism industry will see.
But public health officials say increased vaccination rates will play a key factor.
"Right now the state (of Illinois) is on track to move to phase 5, which means no capacity limits or any COVID-19 mitigations as soon as June 11th," said Rock Island County Health Dept. administrator Nita Ludwig.
But she adds...
"That date is not guaranteed."
No guarantee but still plenty of planning.
County fairs are getting ready to open up.
The Quad Cities Marathon has big plans in September.
And the PGA is coming to TPC at Deere Run in July.
"And I think everyone's kinda chomping at the bit to get back out there and experience communities and we're seeing that in the Quad Cities regional destinations," said Herrell.
You can watch "News 8 THIS WEEK with Jim Mertens" Sunday mornings at 10 on WQAD News 8..