International travelers have developed a growing appetite for midstate destinations, yet collaborative regional marketing efforts to build momentum overseas have never really been undertaken.
Now, a national initiative called Brand USA is spurring coordination between the state tourism office and conventions and visitors bureaus in Harrisburg, Gettysburg, Lancaster, the Poconos and the Philadelphia region.
Brand USA was created by the U.S. Travel Association in 2010 to spearhead international marketing efforts through digital channels.
Regional videos were recently produced to attract visitors from the United Kingdom. And last week, the state and regional visitors bureaus met in Harrisburg to discuss ongoing collaboration, including joint sales missions to top foreign markets.
The United Kingdom and China have been highlighted for mission trips.
The goal: To grow overnight visits, which means greater hotel tax revenue to promote the region.
Amish attraction
The Amish, Pennsylvania Dutch dining and local heritage sites generate the most buzz among international travelers seeking the Lancaster County experience, according to Discover Lancaster.
The top 10 markets for consumer spending generated $7.8 million last year, according to Visa data. In 2009, the top 10 markets accounted for about $5.3 million.
In 2014, the top 10 markets sending tourists to Lancaster County were Canada, China, Puerto Rico, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Japan, Australia, Brazil and Spain.
In Lancaster County, tourists visiting from the top 10 foreign markets posted a nearly 49 percent increase in spending from 2009 to 2014, according to Joel Cliff, a spokesman for Discover Lancaster, citing VisaVue Travel data. Those markets generated more than $7.8 million last year.
China, a key market for many regional visitors bureaus, accounted for about one-third of that growth.
“China for us, as recently as 2008, wasn’t in the top 10,” Cliff said. “By 2010, it was seventh. It’s been No. 2 since.”
Biggest bang
The Hershey Harrisburg Regional Visitors Bureau, which hosted the meeting last week, has been working with a Chinese tour operator, China Ocean and Outback Tour, to coordinate multiday itineraries connected to Hershey as part of a broader East Coast travel package. Group tours could reach Hershey next year.
Growing hospitality: Dauphin County hotel tax revenue
Dauphin County increased its hotel room tax to 5 percent from 3 percent in March 2008. Room tax revenue has steadily grown since the increase, including nearly 10 percent last year, according to the county.
Convention and visitors bureaus receive a piece of the hotel tax revenue to fund a big portion of their annual operating budgets.
The Hershey Harrisburg Regional Visitors Bureau, for example, received more than $2.1 million from the Dauphin County hotel tax in 2014-15. That was 76 percent of its budget.
Other visitors bureaus also are spending more time connecting with foreign tour operators through trade shows and sales missions.
When U.S. travelers venture abroad, it may be a once-in-a-lifetime trip. The same can be said of the international visitors, the regional group said last week.
Educating tour operators and the broader public before they purchase tickets to travel the U.S. for two or three weeks is important, said Brian Said, executive director of the tourism division at the Philadelphia Convention Visitors Bureau.
“Business travelers are slowing. Leisure is growing in Philadelphia,” he said. “And they are spending more.”
Philadelphia is already a strong entry point for international visitors, along with Washington, D.C., but the Philadelphia bureau recognizes it needs to do more, he said. Working with other tourism agencies, including its counterparts in Lancaster County, is a great way to sell Pennsylvania.
The broader commonwealth experience — from scenic mountains and rural areas, to historic cities and attractions — could resonate with international travelers, the group said.
It starts with a pitch to bring groups to the U.S. From there, it’s about selling this region’s close proximity to other cities and attractions in the Northeast.
“A lot of marketing is identifying proximity to Philly,” said Carl Whitehill, a spokesman for Destination Gettysburg. “Most know where Los Angeles and New York are, but do they know where Gettysburg is? Most are surprised how close we are to most major metro areas.”
The draw
President Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address and the Eisenhower National Historic Site are strong draws for international visitors, he said, especially those coming from the United Kingdom or Germany.
China is growing, but not as strongly for Adams County, Whitehill said. “It’s a trend we hope will come here.”
Brazil is another major market, but not so much in the Gettysburg area.
Destination Gettysburg tends to promote the battlefield in international markets, while regional marketing may focus more on outdoor recreation and shopping.
“For Gettysburg, being a small town, we know international visitors are likely to incorporate many stops along the way,” Whitehill said. “We like to connect with Philly and D.C. They are the main international hubs, but they’re also similar in touting American history strongly.”
With the Hershey attractions as a focal point in its marketing, the Hershey Harrisburg bureau is focusing more on shopping in its push into Chinese markets.
In June, North Carolina-based Tanger Factory Outlet Centers Inc., which has shopping centers in Dauphin and Lancaster counties, said it would begin accepting credit cards from Chinese bank-card provider China UnionPay at several of its properties, including the Hershey outlets.
UnionPay is a major player in China, and Tanger said it has seen an increase in shoppers from China, Korea and Japan.
All of the international efforts, which ramped up this year, likely won’t yield any measurable impact until 2016 or 2017, the regional visitors bureaus said.
But being active now, in an era of tighter tourism budgets, should pay dividends, Cliff said. “All of us have to make the dollars go as far as they can. The more folks into the region, the better it will be for all of us.”
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