BOISE, Idaho — Idaho is in the middle of what is typically peak tourism season.
Each year, tourism accounts for approximately $3.7 billion of Idaho's revenue, making it the third-largest industry in the state behind technology and agriculture.
"In a lot of our rural towns and smaller communities, travel and tourism is one of the largest, if not the largest, and most important industry," said Marketing and Innovation Administrator for the Idaho Department of Commerce Matt Borud.
Places like McCall, Cascade, Stanley and Coeur D' Alene see thousands of visitors this time of year. But because of the pandemic, 2020 isn't expected to be as profitable.
"Particularly this time of year, it's about water, lakes, rivers, campsites, public areas that have access to water are really those drivers," Borud said.
The beginning of summer started out slow.
"May was 35% occupancy rate versus 70% in 2019," Borud said. "So, about a 49% decrease."
Overall, early predictions show the rest of the year won’t be much better.
"We estimate that this calendar year, traffic and revenue across the board will likely be down about 50%," Borud said.
But that could change after a surprisingly busy Fourth of July weekend.
The McCall Chamber of Commerce does not yet have official data but said this past weekend looked just as busy as years past with the exception of big crowds congregating on the beach.
Mccall's Shore Lodge was also completely booked, which is typical for the holiday weekend.
"We are hearing from partners who had great Memorial Days and have been very busy in June and their July and August bookings look solid," Borud said.
He added that tourism rates for the rest of the year will largely depend on public health. He is hopeful Idaho will stave off the current spike in cases and continue to rebound.
"We certainly hope that folks do visit and visit safely," Borud said.
Gretchen Parsons is an anchor, reporter and producer at KTVB since 2016. You can follow her on Instagram @gretchenparsonsKTVB or @gretchenKTVB on Twitter.
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