Many communities may have seen bleak economic times in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but as Highlands Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Kaye McHan pointed out on Thursday night, Highlands was not one of them.
Speaking to the Macon County Economic Development Commission during the board’s January meeting, McHan noted that occupancy tax collections in Highlands were actually up from the year prior in 2020.
“Our tourism related businesses, specifically lodging, had a very good year and Highlands as a whole pulled through during the most difficult times,” McHan said. “As a Chamber we didn’t lose a single member business due to COVID-19. We did have two member businesses close in 2020, but both were due to the owners retiring.”
McHan noted that 2020 did come with its share of drawbacks as almost all of Highlands’ annual events were either modified or cancelled due to COVID-19. Plans are underway to proceed with community events in 2021 as the coronavirus vaccine rollout continues.
“Right now we are planning for 2021 to look more like a normal year in terms of events,” McHan said. “Things like the community Fourth of July celebration, the Highlands Food and Wine Festival and the Christmas parade offer entertainment for our fulltime residents, second home owners and visitors.”
Macon County EDC director Tommy Jenkins noted that Highlands’ real estate market is also helping buoy the local economy.
“Real estate across the county is doing well right now, but in Highlands it is just absolutely crazy,” Jenkins said. “Homes are selling as soon as they hit the market. It’s gotten to a point where there is very little inventory, which is something we haven’t seen in a long time, if ever.”
Jenkins noted that countywide sales tax collections through October 2020 were up slightly from the same time in 2019. Final 2020 tax collection numbers will not be available until the end of the first quarter of 2021.
“We should be very thankful as a county for our tourism and real estate sectors right now because their success has kept us heading in the right direction,” Jenkins said. “It’s almost the opposite of what we saw when the recession of 2007-08 happened, which really hurt those two sectors, and subsequently hurt our county as a whole.”
Jenkins noted that the EDC’s May meeting will be held in Highlands with a time and location yet to be determined. Macon County BizWeek, traditionally held each April, may be moved to later in the year depending on the status of the COVID-19 pandemic but no details have been finalized.