We would be lying if we said we have never been so happy to say goodbye to another year. We don’t need to belabor the trials that 2020 presented to the world, and to our tourism industry. So we won’t. Instead, we will look back on the bright spots that were sprinkled throughout the year, and look towards the future with hope. Thank you to everyone who joined us on this crazy trip around the sun, we can’t wait to see you again soon!
What We’ve Been Up To
We took the 2020 slowdown of travel and events and made the most of it by trying out some new things. We created a TikTok channel, which currently has nearly 180 followers. We pivoted from encouraging travel right right now to keeping our travelers and clients informed on the latest COVID-19 information. We focused on providing entertainment for potential travelers to enjoy from the safety of their homes. We worked with the hotels and meeting venues to adapt to state and national regulations for events. We brought innovative ideas for virtual and hybrid meeting solutions to our clients and will continue to do so into 2021. We worked hard to promote locally owned stores and restaurants through this time of uncertainty. And we will continue to do the best we can to make sure that Greater St. Cloud comes out of this a thriving, wonderful destination for travel and events for years to come.
New to Town
Even in the midst of a global pandemic, the hard-working, entrepreneurial, unshakable small business owners of Central Minnesota found ways to thrive. We welcomed many new restaurants, shops, and experiences to the Greater St. Cloud Area – from new storefronts to brand new businesses.
Restaurants
- Cloud 9 Energy Bowls – Waite Park
- Fountain of Juice – New location in Crossroads Center
- Champlife Wingz – St. Cloud
- Lily’s Wings and Things – New Downtown St. Cloud location
- Maverick’s Steak and Cocktails – Waite Park
- Hernandez Burrito – Sauk Rapids
- Adventure Coffee – Coffee Truck
- KREWE Restaurant – St. Joseph
- Flour & Flower Bakery – St. Joseph
- Jupiter Moon – New storefront Downtown St. Joseph
Shops and Boutiques
- Cinnamon Lifestyle Boutique – New storefront Downtown St. Cloud
- Green Thumb Etc. – New, expanded location Downtown St. Cloud
Things to Do
- United States Axe – St. Cloud
- Heritage Skate Park – Newly constructed in previous location
- Art in Motion – Holdingford
- Be the Change Mural – St. Cloud
Website Traffic
This year, you were most interested in the outdoors, shopping and eating local, and easy activities to do as a family.
Most Read Blogs
- Top Activities for Kids in Greater St. Cloud
- Dining Options During COVID-19
- Most Instagrammable Locations in Greater St. Cloud
Most Viewed Restaurants
Most Viewed Shops
Most Viewed Attractions
Visit St. Cloud App
The Visit Greater St. Cloud app is a resource for travelers and event planners, and we are happy to provide this as a source of information, entertainment and more! You guys really helped it grow this year. Here are some 2020 stats:
- 562 new users to our app in 2020
- We had over 25.8k sessions
- Users spent an average of 7 minutes and 53 seconds total exploring the app
- Over 250 people gave our passports a try
Social Media
We have loved staying connected with you throughout this year! Thank you for sharing your experiences with us, we can’t wait to see what you do next!
Top Instagram Posts (by engagement)
Winter was the star of 2020 on Instagram, as well as downtown and arts! Thanks to you, we received 30.9k likes over our 253 posts.
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Top Facebook Posts (by reach)
On Facebook, you looked for any way possible to make the best of the year – and sometimes, that included ice cream. Thank you for the over 3200 shares, 5000+ likes, and 1000+ comments in 2020.
Personally, we think they’re all great options, but we want to know: which Greater St. Cloud house are you choosing?!
Posted by Visit Greater St. Cloud on Thursday, April 16, 2020
Here’s some great news for you on a Friday: Mr. Twisty is OPEN at 3pm today! Plus new this year, order online in advance here: https://www.mrtwistymn.com/
Posted by Visit Greater St. Cloud on Friday, April 17, 2020
Today is the day! You always know that Autumn is just around the corner when Collegeville Orchards opens for the season. Who’s craving fresh apples?!
Posted by Visit Greater St. Cloud on Friday, August 28, 2020
Top TikToks (by views)
@visitgreaterstcloudThe Gem of St. Cloud 🌸 ##munsingerclemensgardens ##travel ##minnesota ##visitstcloud ##stcloudmn♬ original sound – farles
@visitgreaterstcloudWatch to see what we find at the end of this hike at St. John’s University ##visitstcloud ##minnesota ##sju ##tiktoktravel ##stcloudmn♬ Buttercup – Jack Stauber
@visitgreaterstcloudWhich one would you visit first if you could? ##visitstcloud ##stcloudmn ##minnesota ##tiktoktravel ##minnesotacheck♬ Novice Juggler – Joey Pecoraro