. The sector in the San Antonio-New Braunfels metropolitan area employed 134,600 workers in April, a 1.7% increase over the previous month. That’s among the most growth of any major industry in the region, beaten only by the financial services sector.
“One of the hardest-hit industries during the pandemic, San Antonio’s tourism industry is rebounding quicker than anyone could have anticipated,” said Visit San Antonio’s president and CEO Marc Anderson in a statement, adding that it still faces staffing challenges.
Local restaurants, hotels and other tourism employers are now just 1,000 jobs shy of the roughly 135,600 it employed in February 2020, the last month measured by the TWC before the pandemic took hold. However, reaching that pre-pandemic milestone, while significant, will not mark a full recovery. The tourism industry’s job levels wax and wane with the seasons, and winter is historically the low point of the year. The sector is still 4,100 jobs shy of its employment figures in April 2019, when the San Antonio-New Braunfels metropolitan area hospitality sector employed 138,700.