A FEW SHORT years ago, the Covid pandemic had the whole world questioning if the travel and hospitality industries would ever recover. In a report released this week by Houston First Corporation, the region's marketing organization, it seems that those sectors in Houston not only bounced back, but are continuing on a strong upward trajectory.
Early projections indicate that more than 51 million people visited our city in 2023, up more than 5 percent from 2022. More than 23 million hotel-room nights were booked, which also represents a 5 percent increase year-over-year, and average revenue per room, a standard measure of hotel performance, was up a whopping 12.3 percent.
What could help account for those numbers? More than 60 million people traveled through Houston's two passenger airports in 2023, which broke 2019's record by 400,000 people. And Houston First says that more than 560 meetings and conventions held in 2023 led to 610,000 room nights. “Our ability to drive results for our hospitality stakeholders hinges in large part on our capacity to bring events both large and small to Houston,” said Houston First CEO Michael Heckman in the report. “Our team’s performance this year was fantastic, and it sets the tone for what will be another banner year as we work to capitalize on shifts in the market.”
Beyond conventions, statistics show that more and more folks are visiting Houston for pleasure, and Houston First is working with dozens of influencers and journalists to create content on the destination; it reports that influencer content reached an audience topping 54 million in 2023, a 60 percent increase from 2022.
Leisure and hospitality currently is Houston's fourth-largest industry by employment, and a forecast from the Greater Houston Partnership estimates an additional 10,000 jobs will come online this year. Final numbers are still being tallied, but the economic impact on the metro region is expected to greatly exceed 2022's total of $23.6 billion.
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HGO's New Season Lineup Is Stacked: Spotlight Is On Original Productions and Audience Faves
Mar. 21, 2024
FEATURING A NUMBER of arguably the world's most beloved and recognizable operas, the 2024-2025 season announcement from Houston Grand Opera had culture vultures buzzing yesterday.
The six shows that will take place at the Wortham Theater are "largely about young love," and also "composed by youngsters," says HGO Artistic Director Patrick Summers. The season opens with a brand-new production of Verdi's breakthrough opera Il Trovatore, commissioned by the company from director Stephen Wadsworth, who set the story in contemporary Europe. It stars soprano Ailyn Pérez, who this season sang the title role of Madame Butterfly at HGO.
Next is Cinderella, which Rossini began writing when he was just 23; this production is directed by Joan Font of Barcelona's Els Comediants. A release calls the show "bright and whimsical," citing a group of "hilarious, scene-stealing rats" as a driving force of the opera.
Isabel Leonard in Rossini's 'Cinderella' (photo by Todd Rosenberg; courtesy of Lyric Opera of Chicago)
HGO's 'La Boheme' in 2018 (photo by Lynn Lane)
Ryan McKinny stars in 'Breaking the Waves' (photo by Jiyang-Chen)
The set design for the world premiere production of 'Il Trovatore,' by Charlie Corcoran
Come winter, beloved La Bohéme takes the stage, this one a co-production from HGO, Canadian Opera Company and San Francisco Opera that takes place on a set entirely constructed from paintings and canvases. Soprano Yaritza Veliz makes her HGO debut as Mimi, a role that has already garnered her international attention, and she'll play opposite several Grammy-winning singers as Grammy-winning Karen Kamensek conducts. Talk about star power!
Broadway masterpiece West Side Story, which last dazzled HGO audiences in 2018 when the company was displaced from the Wortham thanks to Hurricane Harvey, returns. Catch Shereen Pimentel's HGO debut as Maria, and Kyle Coffman, who starred in Steven Spielberg's 2021 film version of West Side Story, as Riff.
A contemporary newbie makes its Houston debut in the spring: Breaking the Waves, by composer-and-librettist team Missy Mazzoli and Royce Vavrek, tells a tragic story set in a strict Calvinist community in 1970s Scotland. HGO faves Lauren Snouffer and Ryan McKinny star.
And finally, the 2024-2025 season closes with a new staging of Wagner'sTannhäuser, directed by Francesca Zambello. Opera buffs might recognize tenor Russell Thomas, an "acclaimed Wagnerian," from many other Wagner shows, including HGO's 2024 production of Parsifal.
In addition to the six productions on its mainstage, HGO plans to host its inaugural HGO Family Day on Nov. 9, which will feature a 90-minute version of Cinderella and fun-for-all activities in the lobby; "bite-size operas" from popular children's-book author Mo Willems at Miller Outdoor Theater in October; and the spectacular showcase Concert of Arias on Jan. 17.
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