On April 2, unemployment claims in the U.S. surged to 6.6 million as the coronavirus forced many "non-essential" businesses to close. Both state and local governments have formed task forces to look at how economic recovery might look after the pandemic.
President and CEO of Memphis Tourism, Kevin Kane, is part of both task forces and joins Daily Memphian reporter Bill Dries and host Eric Barnes for this week’s WKNO-TV Behind the Headlines. Kane looks at the impact of the current shutdown on tourism, which is a major part of the local economy. More than 12 million people came here in 2019.
Looking ahead, Kane predicts that, at this point, it may be at least 2022 before the city sees a full recovery.