The Covid-19 pandemic emptied out the region’s amusement parks and Amish attractions.
- But by 2022, the tourists had returned, and then some.
- That’s the conclusion to be drawn from the most recent annual report of the Pennsylvania Tourism Office.
- Spending in what the state calls the Dutch Country Roads region hit nearly $9.4 billion in 2022, up 18.3% from $7.9 billion in 2021 and surpassing the $9.1 billion mark set in 2019, according to current and previous reports.
- During the pandemic in 2020, visitor spending in the region plummeted to $5.9 billion.
- The region, for purposes of the report, includes Adams, Berks, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Lancaster, Lebanon, Perry and York counties.
- The dollar totals include spending on lodging, transportation, recreation, retail, and food and beverage.
How did counties do: Some had bounced back from the pandemic dip, some had not.
- Lancaster was the leader, with visitor spending in 2022 of $2.47 billion in 2022, beating its $2.3 billion total in 2019.
- “We had an outsized year in ’22,” said Joel Cliff, spokesperson for Discover Lancaster, which markets the county as a destination.
- He said the rebound was already apparent in 2021 as pandemic restrictions were lifted.
- Numbers for 2023 will not be in until May, Cliff said. But, he noted, inflation weighed on consumer spending last year.
- Overnight visits in Lancaster, for example, were probably down about 3.5%, Cliff said. Nonetheless, he added, “I think 2023, when we see final numbers, will turn out to be a solid year.”
- Lancaster was followed by Dauphin, home to Hersheypark, at $2.46 billion. However, that was shy of the nearly $2.57 billion spent in the county in 2019
- York was next, at $1.12 billion, up from $1.04 billion in 2019.
- Cumberland came in at $887.3 million, short of the $897.2 million recorded in 2019.
- Adams, where tourists flock to Civil War battlefields, weighed in at $736.3 million in 2022, down from a pre-pandemic high of $750.7 million in 2019.
- Berks, Franklin, Lebanon and Perry were all up over the last pre-pandemic year.
What about the state: It attracted 192.4 million visitors in 2022, up from 180.2 million in 2021 but still shy of the 211.4 million mark set in 2019. The total plunged to 151.6 million in 2020.
- Visitor spending also is close to recovery, hitting $45.4 billion in 2022, up 19.3% from $38 billion in 2021. Visitor spending was $46 billion in 2020.
- The strongest gains came from overnight travelers, who accounted for nearly two-thirds of the increase, according to the report, prepared by consulting firm Tourism Economics.
- Visitors can include people who travel within the state, whether on day trips or overnight stays.
- The report also highlights the role of tourism as an economic engine, indicating that the sector supported nearly 500,000 jobs.
