Lynchburg Suffers Economic Difficulties After Major Tourist Attractions Are Cancelled

Between local coffee shops, a multitude of museums and the live music scene, Lynchburg has a lot to showcase. Not unlike other cities, however, COVID-19 has negatively affected the tourism industry in the Hill City.

Tucked away in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Lynchburg is best known for being the home of Liberty University. Visitors also enjoy Lynchburg’s scenic views, good food and famous historical homes. Many people visited in 2019, which drove up the city’s economy.

This year, however, things are looking a little different for Lynchburg’s tourism industry due to the resulting travel restrictions as well as the decline in demand among travelers.

“We are really focusing on our digital platforms to reach people digitally instead of in person,” Lynchburg Experience Manager Emelyn Gwynn said. “We’ve found that we are getting a lot more day trips and short weekend trips for people who are travelling one to two hours to get away.”

Many of the big events that brought in visitors — such as the annual Get Downtown Street Festival and the James River Batteau Festival — were postponed until 2021.

Smaller Lynchburg events however, such as the LYH Punk Rock Flea Market and Yoga in the Parks with “Yoga Goodness Studio,” are still taking place, and encourage attendees to social distance to further prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The Visit Lynchburg website encourages guests to call ahead before visiting as many local businesses have reduced their hours or may be temporarily closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“I think people are still traveling. It just looks a little bit different,” Gwynn said. “[Tourism] is not completely gone — it may just not be as visible to a lot of people. We are still trying hard to reach everybody and encourage people to travel safely.”

Along with local events, the tourism that Liberty University brings in every year has significantly dropped. The 2020 commencement that was pushed back to September was cancelled, an event that usually fills every hotel in town. Along with commencement, many homecoming events were cancelled. College for a Weekend has been cut down, limiting it to just two this academic year. Without multiple CFAW events this semester, Lynchburg has lost multiple weekends that fill hotels and keeps downtown restaurants busy.

Addi Tarr is a News Reporter. Follow her on Twitter at @addi_tarr.