It's National Tourism Week

There’s an old proverb that says, in essence, a wise man travels to discover himself. What many are starting to realize is that travel itself is cause for discovery and celebration.

As such, all tourism-related businesses throughout the United States are celebrating National Tourism Week, which runs from May 7-May 15. McKean County joins in the celebration by recognizing that visitor spending directly supports 758 jobs within the county. In 2009, visitors spent $113.6 million in McKean County, making tourism one of the key growth industries in the county, according to the report Economic Impact of Visitor Spending and the Travel and Tourism Industry in Pennsylvania.

The Allegheny National Forest Visitors Bureau, the official destination marketing agency for McKean County, is one of 49 tourism agencies promoting travel into Pennsylvania. With a goal of increasing overnight stays, the number of visitors, their length of stay, and the amount that visitors spend locally per day, the ANF Visitors Bureau is helping to bring new net income into the region through tourism dollars.

“The effects of tourism revenue and new dollars into the region are felt far and wide,” Linda Devlin, executive director of the Allegheny National Forest Visitors Bureau, said. “Dollars spent at local hotels, attractions, retail shops, restaurants, gas stations, grocery stores, museums and recreation sites all contribute to the vitality of the region’s economy.”

Regardless of whether you work in the tourism industry or not, tourism works for you. Tourism dollars help the economy by lightening the tax burden and by also making it a more interesting place to live. Residents can benefit from local tourism attractions and improved recreational venues, such as the expanding trail system, just as much as visitors.

Conservative estimates suggest that every $1 in state tourism promotion funding has a “return on investment” of at least $25 in the state and local tax revenues derived from tourism-related spending.

State and local governments would have to assess each household in Pennsylvania an additional $690 per year to replace the tax revenues generated by the state’s travel and tourism industry, according to the report.

“Trail Central” was adopted as McKean County’s brand identity in 2009 and it is proving to be a successful marketing strategy by bringing in new visitors daily for geo-caching, hiking, biking and backpacking. Building connections between local outdoor recreational assets and local communities will continue to be the main focus in all the marketing and promotional activities of the ANF Visitors Bureau.

Examples of recent marketing campaigns include the publication and distribution of 100,000 copies of the ANF Visitor Bureau Travel Guide & Map, a sales mission to Toronto, ads in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, Pennsylvania and Ohio Outdoor News and participation in the Appalachia Civil War Map press launch by American Heritage Magazine.

The Bureau is also working on a new dining guide to help visitors find the local restaurants and farmers’ markets in the region.

Devlin believes there are a lot of great things on the horizon for tourism.

“This is an industry that cannot be outsourced, jobs cannot be moved overseas, and it is a “green” industry, working with the natural assets that our regional already has in abundance.”

“Of course, we are extremely excited about the opening of the Kinzua Sky Walk this year,” Devlin said. “We receive calls constantly from people who are just as anxious as we are to again walk the ‘Tracks Across the Sky.’ The opening of this new attraction in time for the fall foliage season will greatly increase the number of tourists to our region.”

Another huge project is the Knox Kane Rail Corridor Trail, a possible 69.9 mile regional, multi-use trail connecting the Kinzua Bridge State Park to Clarion County. A trail this length could have the same economic impact to our region as the Great Allegheny Passage has to the southern part of the state, she said.

“This is very important for McKean County and for ‘Trail Central,’” Devlin said “This area can benefit greatly from having part of this trail right in our backyards. All trails would lead to the Kinzua Bridge State Park, which is the heart of tourism in the county.
With the addition of the Kinzua Bridge Visitors Center, and this future trail link, it is projected that we can become one of the most visited state parks in Pennsylvania.”

But this is only one facet of tourism in McKean County, which also boasts the Zippo/Case Museum in Bradford, the Mansion District Walking Tour in Smethport, the Eldred World War II Museum, fishing in the Allegheny River in Port Allegany and Flickerwood Wine Cellars & Lounge in Kane – to name just a few.

Tourism, the second largest industry in Pennsylvania, annually brings in more than $175 million into the four counties of the Allegheny National Forest – McKean, Warren, Forest and Elk. Of that, McKean County has 40.5 percent of the market share of those counties.

Pennsylvania is the fourth most visited state in the county. The domestic traveler spent $1.2 billion in the Pennsylvania Wilds in 2009, according to the report The Economic Impact of Visitors Spending and the Travel and Tourism Industry in Pennsylvania which was released December 2010. The portion of spending on transportation by travelers to the Pennsylvania Wilds Region was higher than the state average.

McKean County is part of the 12-county Pennsylvania Wilds, the PA Route 6 Heritage Corridor and the Lumber Heritage Region.

A year-round Welcome Center, operated by the ANF Visitors Bureau, is located at 80 E. Corydon Street, Bradford. For additional information on how to you can participate in promoting tourism within McKean County, call 800-473-9370.