Luxury bookings are a key focus for Nashville as the destination revealed that hotel demand is at a record high.

Demand for hotel rooms this year is 11% higher than it was in 2019 – when a record 16.1 million people visited the city – Nashville Convention & Visitors’ Corp president Deana Ivey told Travel Weekly at World Travel Market (WTM).

“And that’s mostly leisure. Business travel hasn’t really come back yet. We’re seeing an incredible resurgence and we’re very excited,” she said.

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As well as a $2 billion airport renovation due to be fully complete by September 2023, there are also 6,000 new hotel rooms under construction in the city between now and 2026, with a number of high-end properties set to open.

The Four Seasons and Conrad Hilton are the city’s newest arrivals, while the Ritz Carlton is due to open, which prompted the city’s tourist board to launch the ‘Hitting the High Notes’ luxury travel campaign.

“We’ve never really catered to the luxury market before. We’ll continue to promote to the people who have always come in, but we’re trying to reach a different demographic,” added Ivey.

“These high-end properties will really support the great chef-driven restaurants that we’ve opened. In the last three years we’ve opened 5,000 hotel rooms and over 200 restaurants and bars. The city is just buzzing – it’s on fire with all the new things. It’s really growing.”

High-end music experiences will include songwriter sessions for guests staying in the suites at the Four Seasons.

Nashville Convention & Visitors’ Corp is also focusing on sports tourism, with a new three-day sports-betting event called Bracket City Live in March, featuring basketball games and live music, with stages on Lower Broadway and the riverfront. The city is also campaigning for a new NFL stadium for the Titans.