CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Visit Corpus Christi officials said Memorial Day Weekend 2023 set a new record for visitors.
Nearly 80,000 cars crossed the JFK Causeway from May 26-28, and now the City of Corpus Christi is preparing for the 4th of July Weekend.
Jase Thompson, the owner of Barefoot Beans in Port Aransas said Memorial Day Weekend was the busiest he has been in the two years he has been in his current location.
“Everybody in town broke records, including myself, broke a lot of records and definitely a giant change compared to last years numbers. I think the continuous growth is going up and up and up in this town,” Thompson said.
Thompson said tourism is crucial for the mom and pop businesses.
“It’s crucial — it’s one of the biggest things that we survive on. Tourism in this time of the year of the summer," Thompson said.
America Segura with Visit Corpus Christi said visitors booked nearly 30,000 rooms in the Coastal Bend for Memorial Day Weekend.
“With visitors coming here it puts more money in the pockets of our local businesses it also creates more demand for businesses to want to come here, more hotels, more things to do and so that only enhances the quality of life for residents,” Segura said.
Now with the 4th of July Weekend around the corner, Thompson said he is now preparing for the rush.
“Bringing in a lot more employees for sure, generally like everybody else does prepping, overstocking and just getting ready to locking down it’s going to be awesome,” Thompson said.
“Businesses on the island or even downtown Corpus Christi that are looking to get those visitor dollars is extremely important to market the destination as a whole,” Segura said.
Segura also said creating a place people want to visit also creates a place people want to live.
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