Erie County's tourism promotion bureau shares summer 2023 visitation highlights
More people came to Erie County from outside of Pennsylvania during the summer of 2023 than the previous year.
That's one of the highlights on summer 2023 visitation numbers shared by VisitErie, Erie County's tourism promotion bureau.
"This summer was an exceptional season for our region," VisitErie President and CEO John Oliver said in a news release. "The increase in out-of-state visitors is of particular importance to us because it lets us know that VisitErie’s summer promotional efforts are working. It’s a positive sign that Erie is solidifying its position as a premier Pennsylvania and Great Lakes destination."
More results
The visitation highlights include:
Visitors: Of the 2023 visitors, 57.8% were from outside of the state of Pennsylvania. That was up 11.8% from 2022. Also in 2023, 63.3% of visitors stayed overnight in Erie County, about the same as the previous year.
Hotels: Hotel occupancy in Erie County averaged 70.9%, a 6% increase compared with 2022. The 2023 hotel average daily rate was $137, a 2.2% increase from 2022. VisitErie's share of the local hotel tax revenue was 7.8% higher than in 2022.
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Visitor guides: VisitErie’s summer campaign targeted designated market areas in Pittsburgh, Johnstown/Altoona and Harrisburg in Pennsylvania and Cleveland, Akron and Youngstown in Ohio. Requests for Erie visitor guides from those target markets increased 187% from 2022.
Who is a 'visitor'?
Visitors are defined as individuals who have traveled more than 50 miles from their home location, stay in Erie County for more than two hours, and visit at least one defined point of interest, according to the VisitErie news release.
What was the time period?
The reports studied visitor traffic numbers to Erie County from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend, according to VisitErie. In some instances, comparisons were made with results from the same time period in 2022.
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What were the results based on?
The visitor data that was analyzed was compiled through Smith Travel Research reports and Zartico Destination Operating System, a national research company that uses anonymized cell phone geolocation data to track visitor activity, according to the news release from VisitErie.
VisitErie studies Erie County visitor trends, including what markets visitors are coming from, how long they are staying, what they spend their money on and what they are doing while here.
Dana Massing can be reached at dmassing@timesnews.com.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: VisitErie shares summer 2023 tourism visitation report highlights
