​In 2017, Destination Gettysburg contracted with California University of Pennsylvania (CalU) to conduct a conversion study to carefully examine requests made within the last two years for Official Visitor Information (OVI) to plan a visit to Gettysburg and Adams County.
 
After collecting 1,894 responses, the team compiled a 27-page analysis of the findings. The study looked at whether the recipient recalled requesting information, if they recalled receiving it, the usability of the information and the impact it had on their visit. Recipient demographic information was also collected to formulate a visitor profile.
 
The most telling piece of data that was revealed from this study is that those visitors who request official information from Destination Gettysburg stay approximately one day longer than the general visitor. This was determined based on the length of stay for the converted "looker to booker" of 3.6 days verses that of the participant in the visitor study conducted in market each year by CalU.
 
Learn more about the usefulness of the official visitor information, the typical visitor and how often they return by reading the full Executive Summary. If you are interested in receiving the full report, please contact Stacey Fox at [email protected].

he tourism industry, especially the trends of travelers themselves, is constantly changing. One year, something is "in," and the next year, it's not.
 
Nevertheless, it's important to recognize that first, the trends change all the time, and secondly, that being aware of the trends can be a great way to open your own business model and reach an entirely new audience.
 
Southern Living Magazine, with the help of fellow travel bloggers put together a list titled, "These Top 10 Travel Trends will be Huge for 2018." While trends often differ for each destination, it's important to know, from a national or even a global scale, of what's happening in travel. Knowing who is traveling and what they are looking for is crucial for marketing your business to travelers.
 
As you'll see in the list below, there are many trends relevant to what Adams County, Pa., can offer its visitors.
 
>> Top 10 Travel Trends for 2018

​Destination Gettysburg is kicking off its spring marketing campaign with new advertisements, new blog posts, social media and story pitches to national media.
 
The spring marketing campaign runs from March through mid-June, and will target a variety of themes including historical travel, couples adventures, recreation and rejuvenation, and food and beverage.
 
As always, Destination Gettysburg's marketing will include a combination of paid advertising, social media, public relations, group sales and other content on our website, app and blog.
 
Print ads through the spring season include Harrisburg Magazine, Recreation News, Baltimore Magazine, AAA World, Homeschool Guide, Whirl and South Jersey Magazine. Digital advertising will be placed with Washington.org and TripAdvisor.
 
Radio advertising includes iHeart Radio, WASH-FM, WMZQ-FM, IASH-FM, WPOC-FM, all part of the Washington DC-Baltimore region.
 
Our communications team will be pitching stories on golf, hiking, springtime rejuvenation, as well as highlighting new events this season.
 
>> Check Out the Spring Advertisements

Whenever a business invests money into upgrading their product, it is a testament to not only their personal success, but the success of the local tourism community as a whole. There are a number of businesses in Adams County which are renovating their buildings, meeting spaces and storefronts, including Adams County Winery.

The current tasting room at the home winery in Orrtanna has been completely redone to include new counters with repurposed barn wood counter tops, floors and artwork- namely a new sign where the mural used to be. The merchandising space has also been recreated allowing for an enhanced tasting room experience while retaining the rustic charm of the historic barn.

“We have recently updated our brand to reflect a more fun, bright and approachable wine,” says Public Relations Director Melissa Brown. “And now we have completed aligning our tasting room with that brand as well.”

This latest renovation is just one in a series owners Katherine Bigler and John Kramb have done since purchasing the winery in 1998. In the almost 20 years the winery has been under their ownership, the tasting room and an additional event venue were added onto the barn, landscaping features such as the stone pavilion and garden terrace were constructed and a wood-fired pizza oven was built to create the Terrace Bistro among many other visual and practical renovations.
​
“It’s always been our priority [to enhance the customers’ experience],” said Katherine. “Times have certainly changed, but we will never change our priorities.”
​
For more pictures and video of the updated space, visit Adams County Winery’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/adamscountywinery.