On the heels of April, when events brought $27 million in tourism spending to The Woodlands in a single weekend, the township’s convention and visitors bureau, Visit The Woodlands, is looking at future prospects to continue harnessing that revenue-generating power.
At the same time, the neighboring city of Shenandoah, which has a population hovering around 3,350 over its 2 square miles, is expecting a 13th hotel to open within the next year. In addition, new openings will bring the city’s restaurant offerings to around 60 locations, Visit Shenandoah Director John Mayner said.
“An exceedingly high percentage of travel spending that comes into our city is from nonresidents,” Mayner said. “Make no mistake about it— every single day of the year, people come, stay, shop at our shops, eat at our restaurants and drop their dollars.”
Officials in The Woodlands and Shenandoah said the trick is how to keep that trend going with increasing regional competition and limited space in which facilities can expand. Vertical growth through additional hotel development to provide rooms and conference space is one approach currently underway in Shenandoah and under consideration in The Woodlands.
