Visitation to Adams County down slightly in 2009
Research shows 1.2 percent less people traveled to Gettysburg area last year
(Gettysburg, Pennsylvania) - 7/22/2010
IMMEDIATE RELEASE ...
CONTACT:
Carl Whitehill
Media Relations Manager
Gettysburg Convention & Visitors Bureau
(717) 338-1055
cwhitehill@gettysburg.travel
Research recently released by the California University of Pennsylvania showed that visitation to Gettysburg and Adams County decreased by 1.2 percent, compared to 2008.
The school’s Tourism Research Center estimated that 3,003,968 people visited the county in 2009.
“Last year was an extremely difficult one in the tourism industry,” said Norris Flowers, President of the Gettysburg Convention & Visitors Bureau, the organization that commissioned the research. “Given the economy was in such poor shape and that Americans were cautious about traveling last year, Gettysburg and Adams County fared well in visitation.”
The decrease in 2009, marks the first year that visitation has dropped since the Gettysburg CVB began the research in 2007.
“With the 150th anniversary of the Civil War quickly approaching, we believe visitation in the next several years will be strong,” said Flowers. “We estimate that in 2013 – for the anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg – that 4 million people will visit Adams County.”
Similarly, a separate report – the Smith Travel Research – showed that the number of people who stayed overnight fell slightly more than 2 percent in 2009, a modest decline from 2008, which included the 145th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg and the opening of the new Gettysburg National Military Park Museum & Visitor Center.
In addition, revenue generated from the county’s lodging tax fell slightly from $1,254,050 in 2008, to $1,213,430 in 2009. Meanwhile, the amount of amusement tax collected in 2009 was $600,334, a 27-percent jump over 2008.
The Gettysburg Convention & Visitors Bureau, the official tourism promotion agency, markets Gettysburg – Adams County as a premier travel destination, producing a positive economic impact.
VisitPA.com
