Latest news with #Matheny
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
New developments could replace downtown Greensboro parking decks
GREENSBORO, N.C. (WGHP) — Two large properties in downtown Greensboro could soon be the launch pad for new developments. Greensboro City Councilman Zack Matheny said Tuesday's city council meeting will be one for the history books. City leaders are expected to discuss the future of two parking decks in downtown Greensboro. One of them is the Bellemeade Street Parking Deck. According to a city council agenda, when it comes to the Bellemeade Street deck, which is already being demolished, city leaders will talk about authorizing an agreement with the Caroll Companies to purchase the property for $1.85 million. 'And then they would pave the property so parking spaces would be there. But also within five years, they would invest a minimum $50 million project,' Matheny said It's a project that would be a full redevelopment of the property. Less than half a mile away, sits the Davie Street Parking Deck. Matheny said city leaders are negotiating with BSC Holdings Incorporated. As part of that agreement, the High Point-based property company would assume full responsibility for demolition and future site development, saving the city $1.4 million. 'And then they would agree to do at minimum, a $12 million project. So two major new projects in downtown Greensboro,' Matheny said Right now, a plan for both developments hasn't been announced yet, but Matheny believes it'll include new businesses. 'I think you're going to have a lot more residential. You'll have some hospitality, retail, and it just shows further that downtown Greensboro continues to grow,' Matheny said. FOX8 reached out to the Caroll Companies, and a spokesperson said the company has an interest in how the Bellemeade Street deck property is redeveloped since it has adjoining property. FOX also reached out to BSC Holdings Incorporated, but we have not heard back from them. Tuesday's city council Meeting starts at 5:30 p.m. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Business Mayor
14-05-2025
- Business
- Business Mayor
With foreign tourists boycotting the U.S., businesses brace for falling sales
Kaia Matheny (left) and Nora Lamphiear (right), co-owners of Adrift Restaurant in Anacortes, Washington. Kaia Matheny. Anacortes, a small coastal town in Washington state, typically bustles with tourists during the summer months. But local business owners like Kaia Matheny are bracing for less foot traffic — and a financial hit — this year as tensions around trade and concerns about immigration policy push foreigners to reconsider the U.S. as a travel destination. Matheny is the co-owner of Adrift Restaurant, a nautical themed farm-to-table eatery in downtown Anacortes. The town, a gateway to the San Juan islands, is a two-hour drive south of Vancouver. She's seen sales fall amid fewer customers from Canada, which is generally the U.S.' top source of international visitors. Air and land arrivals from Canadians fell 14% and 32%, respectively, in March compared to the same time in 2024, according to Tourism Economics. A sharp decline in foot traffic among foreign tourists looks set to persist through summer, data shows. Matheny is 'wary' about what that will mean during peak season, which typically kicks off in June. Tourism 'won't be what it is usually,' Matheny said. 'We'll batten down the hatches and make the best of it.' A 'quickly souring' travel outlook Tourism is a big U.S. export: Foreign visitors spent more than $180 billion here in 2024, more than all agricultural exports combined, said Geoff Freeman, president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association. However, international visits to the U.S. fell 12% year-over-year in March, according to Oxford Economics. It's not just Canada: Visits from Western Europe, Asia and South America — historically the U.S.' highest-value travel markets — are also down by double-digit percentages, according to the U.S. Travel Association. Data suggests the weakness will persist through the summer. Air bookings for overseas summer travel to the U.S. are pacing about 10% behind the same time last year, according to Tourism Economics, which is affiliated with Oxford Economics. (These were bookings made as of March.) Canada and Mexico are worse, data show. Summer bookings from Canada to the U.S. are down more than 30%, for example. 'Foreign visitations to the US are the largest services export in the country and the outlook is quickly souring,' Ryan Sweet, chief U.S. economist at Oxford Economics, wrote in a research note published in May. The loss in international tourism is expected to cost the U.S. economy $10 billion this year compared to 2024, said Adam Sacks, president of Tourism Economics. The U.S. Travel Association pegs the potential loss at an even higher $21 billion in 2025, if current travel trends continue. 'It's alarming,' Freeman said. Many businesses and destinations 'count on the international visitor, in particular.' The tourism pullback appears to be 'more a U.S. issue right now' rather than a broad global weakness in travel, since other regions are seeing positive tourism growth, said Lorraine Sileo, senior analyst and founder of Phocuswright Research, a market research firm. Domestic tourism isn't poised to pick up the slack — the market was slowing heading into 2025 and the 'revenge travel' trend, which had propelled Americans to travel due to pent-up demand after Covid-19 lockdowns, has largely been played out, she said. 'I don't think it's all doom and gloom for the U.S. travel industry,' Sileo said. 'But it'll be a tough year.' Travelers have 'a great deal of fear' U.S. Customs and Border Protection in Newark Liberty International Airport. Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty Images Many factors underpin the decline in international visitors, travel experts said. For one, President Donald Trump has announced several rounds of tariffs, sparking fears of a global trade war and raising the average import duties to the highest level since the early 1900s. Trade wars are 'intrinsically combative' with the international community, Sacks said. In early April, China issued a risk alert for tourists heading to the U.S., citing deteriorating economic relations and domestic security. Several European nations also recently issued U.S. travel advisories, citing reasons such as heightened border security and potential issues around travel documents. More from Personal Finance: There are 'workarounds' to the REAL ID, experts say Where young adults are most likely to live with parents 4 big ways to save on your next trip Trump has also drawn the ire of Canadian citizens and lawmakers through repeated suggestions that Canada become the 51st U.S. state, experts said. Likewise for Greenland, which is part of Denmark. 'Now is also the time to choose Canada,' former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said during a speech in February. 'It might mean changing your summer vacation plans to stay here in Canada and explore the many national and provincial parks, historical sites and tourist destinations our great country has to offer,' he added. Read More My hike on the hardest trail in Europe – Corsica's GR20 Searches conducted in March and April from Canadians for travel to the U.S. dropped 50% from 2024, according to Beyond, a revenue management platform for short-term rentals. 'We saw a nearly immediate drop in Canadian search activity after the tariff news broke back in February,' Julie Brinkman, CEO of Beyond, wrote in an email. 'While interest in the U.S. dropped, Mexico saw a 35% increase in searches. That tells us travelers aren't canceling trips — they're choosing new destinations.' Anecdotes on social media support that notion. 'Proud to say we've cancelled 3 US based cruises over the next 2 years and instead will be vacationing in Europe and Canada,' one Reddit commenter wrote recently. Growing concern tied to U.S. immigration policy is perhaps the most consequential development in recent months, experts said. 'Whether fair or not, a perception is taking hold that more people are being detained, more devices [are] being searched and legal travelers [are] being deported back to their origin country,' Freeman said. 'That creates a great deal of fear.' Business profits fall 'sharply' amid lost customers Nationally, small and mid-sized business profits have already 'deteriorated sharply' amid the travel slowdown, said Aaron Terrazas, an economist at Gusto, a payroll and benefits provider. The share of 'tourism' companies that are profitable fell to 32% in April 2025, down from 41% and 43% in April 2024 and 2023, respectively, according to Gusto. The category includes tour operators, condo or time-share agencies and ticket or reservation agencies. The share of profitable 'accommodation' businesses fell to 36%, down from 44% and 45%, Gusto found. The category includes small hotels and motels, guesthouses, cottages and cabins, and RV parks and campgrounds. Tourists visit the Charging Bull of Wall Street in lower Manhattan on March 28, 2025, in New York City. Spencer Platt | Getty Images News | Getty Images Slower customer traffic — and lost income — are the main culprits, rather than an increase in expenses from inflation or labor costs, Terrazas said. The erosion in profitability and revenue is 'unusually sharp and unusually sudden, particularly for a time of year when we normally start to see travel pick up,' Terrazas said. 'There's no obvious reason why domestic travel would collapse so sharply and so suddenly in a single month, whereas for international travel there are more obvious explanations.' The longer the slowdown continues, the greater the odds businesses will be forced to make tough choices and potentially cut staff, Terrazas said. Foreign visitations to the US are the largest services export in the country and the outlook is quickly souring. Ryan Sweet chief U.S. economist at Oxford Economics Financial losses come at a time when the U.S. hasn't returned to pre-pandemic levels of travel, further pressuring businesses that rely on tourism, Freeman said. The U.S. welcomed 72 million foreign visitors in 2024, shy of the 78 million in 2019, he said. While non-residents account for less than 10% of all U.S. tourism demand, they are far more 'lucrative' spenders, Freeman said. The average overseas visitor spends more than $4,000 per person per visit, eight times more than the average American tourist spends domestically, Freeman said. The average Canadian and Mexican tourist spends $1,200 per visit. 'It's a community impact' Less foreign travel will have a disproportionate impact on certain areas. Las Vegas; Los Angeles; Miami; New York; Orlando, Florida; and San Francisco, for example, account for the largest share of foreign tourists, said Sweet of Oxford Economics. While New York has a large, diverse economy that can likely absorb a tourism loss without going into recession, the same probably isn't true of places like Las Vegas or Honolulu, he said. Tourists take photos near the Las Vegas strip. Robyn Beck | Afp | Getty Images 'These economies are very, very sensitive to tourism,' said Sweet. 'This is their main economic driver.' So far, Matheny, the co-owner of Adrift Restaurant, has seen monthly sales fall 4% relative to last year — not a 'huge' decrease, but a 'noticeable' one, she said. The restaurant has had to cut its buying by an equivalent amount, she said. That in turn hurts the local economy in Anacortes, since the restaurant sources the bulk of its food from local farms and fisheries — hurting their bottom lines, too, said Matheny. 'It's a community impact,' she said. Correction: Beyond is a revenue management platform for short-term rentals. An earlier version misidentified the activities of the company.
CNBC
10-05-2025
- Business
- CNBC
With foreign tourists boycotting the U.S., businesses brace for falling sales
Anacortes, a small coastal town in Washington state, typically bustles with tourists during the summer months. But local business owners like Kaia Matheny are bracing for less foot traffic — and a financial hit — this year as tensions around trade and concerns about immigration policy push foreigners to reconsider the U.S. as a travel destination. Matheny is the co-owner of Adrift Restaurant, a nautical themed farm-to-table eatery in downtown Anacortes. The town, a gateway to the San Juan islands, is a two-hour drive south of Vancouver. She's seen sales fall amid fewer customers from Canada, which is generally the U.S.' top source of international visitors. Air and land arrivals from Canadians fell 14% and 32%, respectively, in March compared to the same time in 2024, according to Tourism Economics. A sharp decline in foot traffic among foreign tourists looks set to persist through summer, data shows. Matheny is "wary" about what that will mean during peak season, which typically kicks off in June. Tourism "won't be what it is usually," Matheny said. "We'll batten down the hatches and make the best of it." Tourism is a big U.S. export: Foreign visitors spent more than $180 billion here in 2024, more than all agricultural exports combined, said Geoff Freeman, president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association. However, international visits to the U.S. fell 12% year-over-year in March, according to Oxford Economics. It's not just Canada: Visits from Western Europe, Asia and South America — historically the U.S.' highest-value travel markets — are also down by double-digit percentages, according to the U.S. Travel Association. Data suggests the weakness will persist through the summer. Air bookings for overseas summer travel to the U.S. are pacing about 10% behind the same time last year, according to Tourism Economics, which is affiliated with Oxford Economics. (These were bookings made as of March.) Canada and Mexico are worse, data show. Summer bookings from Canada to the U.S. are down more than 30%, for example. "Foreign visitations to the US are the largest services export in the country and the outlook is quickly souring," Ryan Sweet, chief U.S. economist at Oxford Economics, wrote in a research note published in May. The loss in international tourism is expected to cost the U.S. economy $10 billion this year compared to 2024, said Adam Sacks, president of Tourism Economics. The U.S. Travel Association pegs the potential loss at an even higher $21 billion in 2025, if current travel trends continue. "It's alarming," Freeman said. Many businesses and destinations "count on the international visitor, in particular." The tourism pullback appears to be "more a U.S. issue right now" rather than a broad global weakness in travel, since other regions are seeing positive tourism growth, said Lorraine Sileo, senior analyst and founder of Phocuswright Research, a market research firm. Domestic tourism isn't poised to pick up the slack — the market was slowing heading into 2025 and the "revenge travel" trend, which had propelled Americans to travel due to pent-up demand after Covid-19 lockdowns, has largely been played out, she said. "I don't think it's all doom and gloom for the U.S. travel industry," Sileo said. "But it'll be a tough year." Many factors underpin the decline in international visitors, travel experts said. For one, President Donald Trump has announced several rounds of tariffs, sparking fears of a global trade war and raising the average import duties to the highest level since the early 1900s. Trade wars are "intrinsically combative" with the international community, Sacks said. In early April, China issued a risk alert for tourists heading to the U.S., citing deteriorating economic relations and domestic security. Several European nations also recently issued U.S. travel advisories, citing reasons such as heightened border security and potential issues around travel documents. More from Personal Finance:There are 'workarounds' to the REAL ID, experts sayWhere young adults are most likely to live with parents4 big ways to save on your next trip Trump has also drawn the ire of Canadian citizens and lawmakers through repeated suggestions that Canada become the 51st U.S. state, experts said. Likewise for Greenland, which is part of Denmark. "Now is also the time to choose Canada," former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said during a speech in February. "It might mean changing your summer vacation plans to stay here in Canada and explore the many national and provincial parks, historical sites and tourist destinations our great country has to offer," he added. Searches conducted in March and April from Canadians for travel to the U.S. dropped 50% from 2024, according to Beyond, a data provider on the global short-term rental market. "We saw a nearly immediate drop in Canadian search activity after the tariff news broke back in February," Julie Brinkman, CEO of Beyond, wrote in an e-mail. "While interest in the U.S. dropped, Mexico saw a 35% increase in searches. That tells us travelers aren't canceling trips — they're choosing new destinations." Anecdotes on social media support that notion. "Proud to say we've cancelled 3 US based cruises over the next 2 years and instead will be vacationing in Europe and Canada," one Reddit commenter wrote recently. Growing concern tied to U.S. immigration policy is perhaps the most consequential development in recent months, experts said. "Whether fair or not, a perception is taking hold that more people are being detained, more devices [are] being searched and legal travelers [are] being deported back to their origin country," Freeman said. "That creates a great deal of fear." Nationally, small and mid-sized business profits have already "deteriorated sharply" amid the travel slowdown, said Aaron Terrazas, an economist at Gusto, a payroll and benefits provider. The share of "tourism" companies that are profitable fell to 32% in April 2025, down from 41% and 43% in April 2024 and 2023, respectively, according to Gusto. The category includes tour operators, condo or time-share agencies and ticket or reservation agencies. The share of profitable "accommodation" businesses fell to 36%, down from 44% and 45%, Gusto found. The category includes small hotels and motels, guesthouses, cottages and cabins, and RV parks and campgrounds. Slower customer traffic — and lost income — are the main culprits, rather than an increase in expenses from inflation or labor costs, Terrazas said. The erosion in profitability and revenue is "unusually sharp and unusually sudden, particularly for a time of year when we normally start to see travel pick up," Terrazas said. "There's no obvious reason why domestic travel would collapse so sharply and so suddenly in a single month, whereas for international travel there are more obvious explanations." The longer the slowdown continues, the greater the odds businesses will be forced to make tough choices and potentially cut staff, Terrazas said. Financial losses come at a time when the U.S. hasn't returned to pre-pandemic levels of travel, further pressuring businesses that rely on tourism, Freeman said. The U.S. welcomed 72 million foreign visitors in 2024, shy of the 78 million in 2019, he said. While non-residents account for less than 10% of all U.S. tourism demand, they are far more "lucrative" spenders, Freeman said. The average overseas visitor spends more than $4,000 per person per visit, eight times more than the average American tourist spends domestically, Freeman said. The average Canadian and Mexican tourist spends $1,200 per visit. Less foreign travel will have a disproportionate impact on certain areas. Las Vegas; Los Angeles; Miami; New York; Orlando, Florida; and San Francisco, for example, account for the largest share of foreign tourists, said Sweet of Oxford Economics. While New York has a large, diverse economy that can likely absorb a tourism loss without going into recession, the same probably isn't true of places like Las Vegas or Honolulu, he said. "These economies are very, very sensitive to tourism," said Sweet. "This is their main economic driver." So far, Matheny, the co-owner of Adrift Restaurant, has seen monthly sales fall 4% relative to last year — not a "huge" decrease, but a "noticeable" one, she said. The restaurant has had to cut its buying by an equivalent amount, she said. That in turn hurts the local economy in Anacortes, since the restaurant sources the bulk of its food from local farms and fisheries — hurting their bottom lines, too, said Matheny. "It's a community impact," she said.
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Downtown Greensboro Inc. talks ‘State of Downtown'
GREENSBORO, N.C. (WGHP) — 9.3 million people visited downtown Greensboro in 2024. On Thursday, Downtown Greensboro Inc. President Zack Matheny shared the latest numbers, trends and updates on some big projects. Housing, population and jobs all increased in downtown Greensboro in 2024, but there is a long way to go to draw in visitors year-round and not just for the big events. 1.6 million people attended large events in downtown Greensboro last year, but on any given day, 90% of people downtown are workers. There are some challenges. The biggest ones are that construction costs and interest rates make it difficult for new projects. Mathany also says there is an overall perception that downtown Greensboro is unsafe, so people don't want to come. They hope to change the mindset. One way Downtown Greensboro Inc. hopes to do that is through the Thrive35 vision plan, which is a way for people to take a survey and share what they want to see changed. At the end of the presentation today, Matheny concluded by saying, 'It doesn't stop here,' and he and his team will get back to work immediately. 'Honestly, we are going back into a focus group to get even more information from the community about the Thrive35 plan, it really is what the community wants to support, that is how you get people downtown,' Matheny said. 'Instead of 9.3 million visits, I want 10 million, then I am going to want 12.' Matheny says he has big plans for downtown Greensboro. They also discussed updates on a few projects, such as a new hotel, which they'll break ground on next week, new apartments and the previously announced updates to the depot. On Thursday, demolition began on the Bellemeade Street parking deck. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
