In early January a chemical leak in the water supply of 300,000 residents in and around Charleston, W.Va., caused economic shutdown of the tourism industry and major concerns for residents.
Some hotels were forced to close as a “DO NOT USE” water advisory was issued. All restaurants in the area were closed and retailers suffered from the lack of traffic into their stores. While all businesses have reopened and testing indicates that the chemical in question was at below the 1 part per million mark, some residents still detect the licorice odor. Area restaurants are using bottled water for personal consumption as well as cooking in an effort to make patrons comfortable.
As the city continues to clean up, as the company in question has been required to remove the tank that held the chemical in question and as lawmakers debate environmental bills to ensure that the state’s water supply will not be compromised again, tourism businesses have shown their resiliency.
To help share the message of how the tourism industry responded and what steps are being taken to recover, the Charleston CVB has initiated a series of testimonial videos that include local restaurant owners and other individuals in the tourism industry. Each video will tell the story of how the business responded to the challenge and what they’re doing to combat the issue.
The Charleston CVB remains dedicated to providing information as the city moves through this recovery period. Here is the first weekly installment (http://youtu.be/iTq5tvucjnY).
