It might take another year or two to get back up to five million visitors to Port Aransas, as they continue to rebuild from Hurricane Harvey.
Mustang Island/Port Aransas Tourism Bureau and Chamber of Commerce president/CEO Jeffrey Hentz said they were on track last year to have five million visitors, but then Harvey caused them to miss four months of the season.
They should be completely ready for the summer. Although, it might be a lighter than average Spring Break in Port Aransas.
“About 90 percent of our businesses were shut down. 95 percent of our lodging businesses, which is about 3,800 rooms, were shut down, we’ll have about 40 percent of that back by mid-March,” said Hentz. “About 58 percent of our lodging inventory is vacation homes, that’s all coming back in the next few weeks and months. The condos are the ones that are the slowest, because they’re older and that’s going to be the longest to come back. And, then our hotels that should pretty much be back by summer.”
He said condos make up about 20 percent of the lodging inventory and hotel rooms make up 25 percent of their inventory.
Port Aransas had 3,500 residents. Right now, only half are back in their homes. He says they expect 60 to 70 percent of residents to be back in their homes by the end of March.
You can donate at New Day Port A fund to help rebuild the community.