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Dear Texas Economic Development Stakeholders,
The economic recovery shows no signs of slowing down in the Lone Star State! During March, Texas saw a sharp increase in our service sector outlook, retail sales growth and manufacturing output. Our state has added back nearly 1 million jobs since the start of the pandemic—touting an impressive job recovery rate of 67.7%; great news for the future of the Texas economy.
Despite the challenges of this past year, in April, Chief Executive Magazine named Texas as the Best State for Business for the 17th year in a row! You can see the publication’s interview with Governor Greg Abbott to learn more about how Texas continues to lead the nation in terms of business climate.
As we look towards continued recovery in May, we celebrate several key economic initiatives. National Travel & Tourism Week is this week (May 2-8), and National Economic Development Week and Small Business Week in Texas will take place May 9-15. We look forward to celebrating small businesses, economic development programs and the Texas tourism industry, which are all vital to our state's economic success.
In this month's newsletter, you will find an updated tourism outlook from our Travel Texas team, an update on some of our team members' new roles, recent project announcements and much more. Please check our website and follow us on social media for the latest economic development updates, and we hope you will reach out to our team if we can be of any assistance!
-Texas Economic Development & Tourism Team
Economic Development Week & Small Business Week in Texas
Economic Development Week and Small Business Week in Texas will begin May 9 and continue through May 15, 2021. We look forward to celebrating local, regional and statewide economic development partners and supporting our state's resilient small businesses and entrepreneurs. We hope you will participate in this important week by:
- Joining the next Governor's Small Business Webinar on Starting a Business in Texas taking place Thursday, May 13 at 1 p.m., CT
- Utilizing the official Small Business Week in Texas badge in your organization's communications
- Following @TexasEconDev on social media throughout the week and joining in with the following hashtags: #SmallBizWeekTexas, #EconDevWeek, #TexasEconDev
- Supporting the small businesses and economic developers in your local communities in your own creative way
Travel Texas Update
National Travel and Tourism Week (May 2-8) is an annual tradition for the U.S. travel community. It’s a time when travel and tourism professionals around the country unite to celebrate the value travel holds for the economy, businesses and personal well-being. This year we also celebrate the resilience and ingenuity of travel industry workers and businesses hit hard by the pandemic.
Texas' leisure and hospitality sector, which includes jobs in hotels, food services, entertainment, arts and recreation, led the state in March with +23,100 jobs added. Since a low point in April 2020, these sectors added around +380,000 jobs as the businesses continue to recover.
According to the hotel data firm STR, hotel occupancies statewide reached 71.6% over Spring Break week (3/14-3/20) with revenues similar to the same week in 2019. Many destinations were above 80% occupancy on March weekends. Road trips continue to be popular and many travelers are beginning to take to the skies again. Several Texas airports have announced new routes and scheduled daily flights for the summer season are trending towards pre-pandemic levels.
Travel Texas launched Let’s Texas recovery advertising in mid-March as part of the state’s tourism promotion efforts, which is already driving interest in travel to and within the state. The campaign has 45 million completed video views and in the first month increased web traffic by more than 1,000% compared to the same time last year. Click here to learn more about the campaign. There is no better way to celebrate National Travel and Tourism Week than by seeking inspiration for your next Texas vacation at www.traveltexas.com!
Recent Project Announcements
The Business & Community Development team has continued to see many companies flocking to the Lone Star State. The inquiries from large companies and small businesses alike are not slowing down. Our economic recovery and the positive outlook for the future have kept prospect activity high. Here are a few companies announcing their move or expansion in the state in the past month.
Great Lakes Cheese in Abilene: Cheese manufacturer, Great Lakes Cheese, is establishing a new distribution and packaging center in Abilene. The project will create more than 500 jobs and close to $185 million in capital investment. A $3 million Texas Enterprise Fund grant has been extended to the company. Governor Greg Abbott was joined by Texas State Senator Dawn Buckingham and State Representative Stan Lambert at the project announcement.
Rhino Health in Fort Worth: New Mexico-based PPE manufacturer, Rhino Health LLC, is planning to open its largest manufacturing facility in Fort Worth. The 400,000 square-foot facility will create 800 new jobs.
i2c in San Antonio: i2c, a global provider of payments processing technology and banking solutions, is planning to open a new contact center in San Antonio, expected to create more than 300 new jobs.
Wayfair in Austin: Online home furnishing store, Wayfair, is coming to Austin. The new engineering office is expected to open within the next year and hire up to 200 new positions.
Allegiant Travel Company in Austin: Allegiant Travel Company will invest $75 million in a new hub at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, creating at least 89 new high-paying jobs.
Skipcart in San Antonio: Texas-based Skipcart is expanding its headquarters to San Antonio, bringing more than 100 new jobs.
Markaaz in Austin: Formerly based in Los Angeles, Markaaz has relocated its headquarters to Austin. The technology company plans to create 70 new jobs by the end of the year, and 150 new jobs by 2022.
Matthews' Saueressig Engineering in San Antonio: Matthews International Corporation plans to develop its North American headquarters in San Antonio, creating 50 new high-paying jobs.
SafeRide Health in San Antonio: California-based healthcare technology company, SafeRide Health, is expanding its business to downtown San Antonio. The project will create 100 new jobs over the next five years.
Pregis in DFW: Pregis, a manufacturer of protective packaging, opened a new distribution facility in Garland, which will employ more than 80 individuals by the end of the year. The company will also open a new manufacturing facility in Arlington this summer, which will hire 80 new employees.
Blockcap in Austin: Bitcoin mining company, Blockcap, is establishing its headquarters in Austin. The company is anticipating bringing 32,000 new mining machines over the next year.
Pegatron in El Paso: Pegatron, a Taiwanese tech company and supplier for companies like Apple and Tesla, is building their first U.S. manufacturing site in El Paso.
Nissei America in San Antonio: Nissei America, a manufacturer of injection molding machinery, is moving their headquarters to San Antonio from Anaheim, California.
Wiley X in Frisco: Protective eyewear brand, Wiley X, is moving their global headquarters, manufacturing and distribution site from Livermore, California, to Frisco.
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In the News
The University of Texas at Austin has partnered with The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York to provide a low-cost vaccine for global use. Clinical studies have begun in Vietnam and Thailand and are slated to start in Brazil soon.
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Despite the challenges of the past year, Texas is leading the way in biotechnology, especially when it comes to manufacturing the COVID-19 vaccine. The Texas A&M University System has ensured that Texas will be at the forefront of biotech with a subcontracting partnership with Fujifilm. The scientists have trained more than 200 new employees in biomanufacturing basics.
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The Freeport Harbor Channel Improvement Project, which broke ground April 8, 2021, is a strategic initiative to deepen the port to depths ranging from 51 to 56 feet. The project, a partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, is expected to take five years to complete and cost more than $295 million.
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The University of Texas at Austin hosted a mini military expo on April 9, 2021. The event hosted multiple four-star generals and showcased new technologies that the military will use in the near future. Students in the university's Nuclear & Applied Robotics Group created some of the new technologies on display.
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Ward County will receive a $1.5 million award from the U.S. Economic Development Administration. The award was announced on April 23, 2021, by Congressman Tony Gonzales. The funds will be given to the Monahans Economic Development Corporation and help fund the COVID-19 Broadband Infrastructure Project.
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