Newport’s Tourism Hit Hard by NY, NJ, CT, MA Quarantine, Raimondo Says "It's a Good Thing"

Newport’s Tourism Hit Hard by NY, NJ, CT, MA Quarantine, Raimondo Says "It's a Good Thing"

Governor Gina Raimondo said Wednesday that the decision by neighboring states to quarantine Rhode Islanders and those that visit for 14 days is not as bad as it seems.

Tourism experts say it is a crushing blow to the fledgling industry.

"Several of our neighboring states put travel restrictions on citizens of Rhode Island," said Raimondo. 

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READ: Once the Quarantiner, Now the Quarantined—RI Now Landlocked Due to Coronavirus Numbers

"I think it’s a good thing," said Raimondo. "It should certainly be a wake-up call that we need to do better. The less we’re all traveling the better — this will mean fewer people coming to Rhode Island to use our facilities because it would mean quarantining when they go home. This will hurt our economy a bit."

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Evan Smith, who heads Discover Newport, says the quarantines are a significant blow to Newport’s tourism industry.

“Bottom line is its not good. Going to be another huge challenge and step back for our industry partners,” said Smith.

"These are our four top producing states right now," said Smith, of Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, and New Jersey. 

“Our hotels have been averaging 75% on weekends and 40% midweek. They stand to lose up to half of that business for every week Rhode Island stays on the red list. The total financial blow will depend on how long we stay on the red list,” he added.

Rhode Island’s tourism industry is the largest employer.