Recession to rcovery: Tourism rebounds quickly in Monroe County

The numbers show Monroe County’s hospitality industry has fared quite well coming out of the recession, showing net growth even as the industry has faltered statewide.

Hotel occupancy rates for Monroe County, always among Indiana’s leaders, stood at 59.2 percent for the year through September, 5.5 percent above the Indiana average over roughly the same time.

The local rate is up almost 1.5 percent from the same period in 2007, even as statewide occupancy rates fell more than 5 percent from 2007.