It keeps businesses growing, communities thriving, and people working.
The “Power of Lancaster County Tourism” report completed in June 2019 by the respected industry analysts at Tourism Economics contains figures that demonstrate (1) why organizations like Discover Lancaster are crucial (the buying power to consistently deliver a destination-wide message), and (2) how they produce a multiple return in visitor spending for every $1 invested in tourism promotion.
Through an analysis of key performance indicators, the study (Executive Summary here; Full Report here) describes the economic impact of this important work, the highlights of which include:
An estimated 8.85 million visitors to Lancaster County directly spent $2.24 billion in 2018, creating a total tourism impact of $2.91 billion in the county.
This visitor spending supported nearly 25,500 county jobs, including approximately 16,968 direct tourism industry jobs, which makes tourism the sixth largest non-agriculture private sector employer in the county, accounting for 1 of every 15 such jobs.
State and local tax revenue generated by the tourism industry saves each Lancaster County household from paying an estimated $1,060 annually in such taxes in order to maintain current services.