​On Sept. 19, Destination Gettysburg will be hosting the End of Summer Social- a member only event that gives everyone a chance to relax, network and celebrate the end of a busy and successful summer season in Adams County tourism.
 
Breaktime Massage will be offering free chair massages and Tarot Impressions by Charla will be doing Tarot Card readings. A picnic dinner will also be provided.
 
The End of Summer Social will be held from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the Stone of Scone Farm, 1005 Littlestown Road, Littlestown, PA. This farm is Adams County's newest - and yet, one of the oldest - meeting and event venue. The farm dates back 270 years and is currently undergoing an extensive renovation.
 
To RSVP to this free event, contact Membership Assistant Erin Pearce at erin@destinationgettysburg.com by Sept. 12.

​Community and business leaders gathered last week to discuss the current business climate of Adams County, while setting the stage for future growth in the region's tourism industry.
 
Forty attendees, ranging from government officials, community organizations, business leaders and others in the tourism community, gathered as part of Advantage Adams first forum.
 
Among the main topics of conversation, there was discussion of the municipal challenges that exist for those looking to open or expand businesses in Adams County. Specifically noted were the complex, and often slow, permitting processes in townships and boroughs.
 
Representatives from several businesses were on hand to share their experiences in starting businesses in Adams County.
 
Nimesh Shah - of As One Management which owns three hotels in Adams County, including the new Holiday Inn Express & Suites - encouraged fellow business owners as well as others in the community to engage with the younger generations, both by marketing for visitation, and working with employees who may grow within the local tourism community.
 
"The earlier you do that, the more beneficial it is for you and the town," Shah said. He later suggested that reaching younger visitors is key to a long-term sustainability of the tourism industry.
 
Bill Geist, a consultant for destination marketing organizations, began the forum with a presentation on tourism marketing and the positive influence on a community's economic development efforts. He shared insights from other destinations both in respects to tourism marketing and sustaining the future of the tourism industry.
 
The panel discussion was hosted by the Advantage Adams partners - the Adams County Economic Development Corporation, the County of Adams, Destination Gettysburg and the Gettysburg Adams Chamber of Commerce.

Adams County, Pa., is on track to generate more than $50 million in hotel revenue this year, nearing the all-time high set in 2013 - the year that Gettysburg commemorated the 150th Anniversary of the Battle.
 
So far, through June, hotel sales - rentals by visitors staying in hotels/motels, bed and breakfasts, guest houses and campground cabins/cottages in Adams County - neared $23 million, almost $1 million higher than those same months in 2016, and $1.75 million higher than 2013.
 
"Destination Gettysburg has worked hard to extend visitors' stays by convincing travelers that they need more than a day, often more than two days, to fully experience Adams County," said Norris Flowers, President of Destination Gettysburg. "These numbers are proof that our marketing is working."
 
Hotel revenue is key to generating not only income for owners of accommodation properties, but overnight stays bring approximately $675,000 in lodging taxes to county and local governments annually, in addition to supporting thousands of jobs throughout Adams County.

 >> Read More

Since 2007, California University of Pennsylvania's Tourism Research Center has interviewed visitors throughout Adams County. Their team of researchers is then able to analyze and provide an insight about the people who visit our community.
 
This information is extremely valuable to Destination Gettysburg as the organization builds its marketing strategy every year.
 
The Tourism Research Center recently released its 2016 survey results, and has enabled the marketing team at Destination Gettysburg to compile a snapshot of our visitors last year.
 
Among the findings:

• The typical visitor to Gettysburg is split nearly 50/50 in terms of gender.
• Most visitors originate from Pennsylvania. Other states highly represented in the surveys included Maryland, New Jersey, Virginia and Ohio.
• The average age of those surveyed is 52 years old, which decreased by once year since 2015 - an effect, we believe, of Destination Gettysburg's attempts to attract younger visitors.
• Slightly more than half of visitors surveyed indicated they had traveled to Gettysburg before.
• The majority of visitors are here for leisure, more so than business travel or to visit friends and family.
• A high percentage (81%) indicated that Gettysburg was their primary destination, but others said they were also traveling to Washington, D.C., and other Pennsylvania destinations.
• Visitors surveyed reported spending and average of $323.71 during their trip, up from an average of $262.64 in 2015.

 One of the most important barometers for tourism research and economic data is overnight stays.

• Half of those surveyed indicated they were staying more than one night, which is up dramatically over 2015.
• The most common length of stay is two nights.
• Because the percentage of overnight stays is up, the number of daytrips is down by 24.3 percent.

 Destination Gettysburg uses this research to best determine the markets and the audiences of which to market.
 
>> Full Report of California University of Pennsylvania's Research

Business owners and prospective business owners who are looking to build, open or expand in Adams County are invited to attend a program designed to share opportunities for commercial growth as well as learn about the challenges they may face throughout the region.
 
This one-evening program will be held on Tuesday, Aug. 22, from 5 to 6:30 p.m. at the Gettysburg Campus of HACC, located at 731 Old Harrisburg Road, in the Robert C. Hoffman Room. Refreshments will be served.
 
Analysis of industry data has revealed top target growth sectors that can be expanded and supported by Adams County's current cultural and economic elements. One of those sectors is tourism - the first subject in a series of meetings with businesses in and around Adams County.
​
The first program, focusing on tourism, will include a panel discussion featuring:

• Bill Geist of Zeitgeist Consulting, a firm specializing in strategic planning, governance, marketing and legislative issues for destination marketing organizations, tourism-related chambers of commerce, economic development organizations and communities. Geist will focus on what communities, such as Adams County, need to stay competitive in the future.
• Eric Vranich of Wm. F. Hill and Assoc. to discuss methods and considerations when navigating the municipal approvals process.
• Nimesh Shah of As One Management Inc. to present the best practices for expanding and developing new business in Adams County.

The panel discussion is hosted by the Advantage Adams partners - the Adams County Economic Development Corporation, the County of Adams, Destination Gettysburg and the Gettysburg Adams Chamber of Commerce.
 
The next forum, which is to be held in September, will focus on manufacturing.

​The Toronto Star, one of three major metro daily newspapers in the Canadian city, published a story this past weekend highlighting not only an experience that sometimes reaches beyond the destination's rich history, but one that focused on the community's arts and culinary scene.
 
Destination Gettysburg hosted freelance writer Jennifer Allford in June after meeting the travel editor of the Toronto Star at a media show in New York earlier in the year. The communications team at Destination Gettysburg collaborated with the writer in the months leading up to her visit and made arrangements for her two-day stay in Adams County.
 
"Between the small 'Civil War Building' plaques lining buildings along Chambersburg Street, there is evidence of another onslaught this day - drawings on paper are affixed to the brick, free for the taking, in a semi-regular 'art attack' in which a local artist gives away a stock pile of her work," the article began. "You notice Nanette Hatzes's art - colourful abstracts, thoughtful faces and the occasional mermaid - when you look away from signage about yet another building that was used as a hospital during the Battle of Gettysburg in July 1863. After the three-day
conflict, more than 50,000 men were dead, injured or missing. But that bloody history doesn't mean people here can't celebrate life."
 
The Toronto Star has a print circulation of 361,000 and an online audience of 9.3 million unique monthly visitors.

>> Read the Article

While the heat of the summer continues and we enjoy the many visitors connecting with our history, culinary experiences and outdoor recreation, we are thinking ahead to fall. 
 
Starting in mid-September, the full fall campaign for Destination Gettysburg will launch, complete with new digital ads, print ads and all new videos. You will see not only a seasonal transformation, but a design transformation too. After about 18 months of our unique petal-style design, you will begin to see one main image with smaller detailed experiences. Each print ad will utilize the Gettysburg Inspired headline and we will continue with our "Make Your Own History" tag. Regardless of the platform, we are moving people to request a travel planner, download our app and visit our website - all ways to drive more traffic to information about our members.
 
Marketing messages, which utilize photography captured in-market by our partners, showcase the unexpected experiences in our destination, while still bringing in the history. This tactic has shown a positive impact on the destination. Since launching this approach in 2014, we have seen an increase in interest from travel writers and bloggers as well as increases in visitation. We have also found that the average age of our visitor is slowly coming down.
 
Be sure to follow us on social media to see our weekly blogs from RoadtoGettysburg.com, our bi-weekly Gettysburg Road Tripping videos, culinary blogs featuring local recipes and chefs, as well as the amazing posts on Instagram. Be sure to share our posts, especially if they include a mention of your business.
 
For a complete rundown of where to see our ads, check out the 2017 Marketing Plan.

>> View Two of our Fall Campaign Videos Here and Here