The Fort Worth Convention & Visitors Bureau announces that through the end of first quarter 2010, Fort Worth’s hotels experienced the highest first quarter occupancy and demand in the city’s history. In addition, Fort Worth hotels continue to remain above the national average in both categories, according to the latest report by Smith Travel Research.

The report findings show that in first quarter 2010, occupancy for hotels across the United States was 51.9 percent, with Fort Worth’s occupancy at 57.6 percent city wide and occupancy for the city’s downtown hotels at 67 percent. For the same time period, hotel demand (total rooms occupied) across the United States was up 5.3 percent. Demand for Fort Worth hotels was up 5.4 percent city wide while demand for downtown hotels was up 26.2 percent. With the addition of new and renovated hotels, the increase in citywide hotel supply for Fort Worth was up 2.8 percent. In first quarter 2010, total room revenue generated citywide was $58.5 million, with total room revenue for downtown hotels totaling over $21 million, a 21.4 percent increase over the previous year.

“These outstanding results from the recent Smith Travel Research report show the strength and continued growth of Fort Worth’s hospitality industry,” said David DuBois, CMP, CAE, CTA, president and CEO of the Fort Worth Convention & Visitors Bureau. “As we go into the summer travel season and prepare for large regional events such as next year’s Super Bowl, we expect to see additional long term positive results for our hotels and hospitality partners.”

The Fort Worth CVB, which operates on an October 1-September 30 fiscal year, achieved record-breaking results for 2008-2009. The number of definite room nights booked in 2008-2009 was 271,000 versus 258,000 in 2007-2008, a 4.7 percent increase over the previous year. In 2008-2009, hosted meetings and convention room nights went from 162,000 to 192,000, an 18 percent increase. Group tour definite room nights also increased in 2008-2009 to 3,500 up from 2,300, a 50 percent increase. For more information, visit www.fortworth.com.