CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Day and night, the streets of downtown Corpus Christi are hustling and bustling.
“We came down here to get breakfast, brunch, and then also out to dinner and go to a hooks game and then come down here to BUS, Rockit's Whiskey Bar & Saloon and get drinks,” Nathaniel Blout said.
Blout and his girlfriend Dakota Melde spend their free time downtown, especially now with all the new businesses opening.
“I saw that on Instagram! The new two-story bar. I said we should go,” Melde said.
Jeremiah Hernandez, who works at Produce Goods Micro Bodega has noticed an increase in tourists shopping downtown.
“Especially when we have art walk, every first Friday. It’s crazy. We get over 200 people,” Hernandez said.
Visit Corpus Christi said while most coastal cities saw decreases in overnight stays versus 2022, Corpus Christi saw a 3% increase in hotel occupancy rates.
During Memorial Day weekend, over 29,000 rooms were booked by visitors. Executive Director of the Downtown Management District, Allysa Barrera Mason told Action 10 News that they planned for the summertime improvements back in the spring.
“Downtown produces almost a quarter of the city’s hotel occupancy tax and is really a large player in what defines Corpus Christi,” Mason said.
That’s why the Downtown Management District brought artists to paint large scale murals, more activities, and new businesses.
It’s all part of growing the revitalization effort in downtown Corpus Christi.
"We did not have the type of activity that we're seeing downtown now and so we have record breaking attendance numbers, sales numbers and it's all part of a community that’s really embracing downtown,” Mason said.
A Corpus Christi forecast created by tourism economics projects a big summer ahead.
Increases in hotel revenue are expected throughout June, July and August that would mean a record amount of tax collections for the city.
