Lancaster County tourism hits final stretch of 2023 with strong stats, new Christmas events
On her first visit to Lancaster County, Geraldine Lancey of Danbury, Connecticut, realized a place she read about in an inspirational fictional story in Guideposts, a semi-monthly spiritual non-denominational magazine, was real.
“Bird-in-Hand is a real place,” said Lancey with a laugh on a recent return trip to the county. She was here on one of the busiest days of the year – a weekday before Thanksgiving – gathering up her shopping bag and readying to board the Diamond Tour bus at Kitchen Kettle Village in Intercourse, just a few miles from the very real Bird-in-Hand. Lancey and her tour friends, Jan Mann and Ginger Wohlfarth, stopped at Kitchen Kettle Village to buy gifts and treat themselves after seeing “The Miracle of Christmas” at Sight & Sound Theatre in Strasburg Township, which features elaborate productions based on Biblical stories. By noon, a dozen buses just like the one Lancey, Mann and Wohlfarth arrived on filled the parking lot at Kitchen Kettle Village. All told, 25 buses would bring tour groups from as far away as Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Maryland, Virginia and Connecticut on that day. As the Lancaster County tourism sector experiences another strong year, attractions like Kitchen Kettle Village are looking to the holiday season to beat last year’s countywide record-setting tally of 9.77 million visitors. There is optimism not only because “The Miracle of Christmas” has returned after four years but the expansion of the off-peak travel season at venues such as the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire and Dutch Wonderland. With such momentum despite a slowing economy, the only thing that may stand in the way of another record visitor tally is the weather. “I always pray snow holds out until we’re done,” said Gerri Martera, a longtime Diamond Tour guide, as she watched the crowds at Kitchen Kettle Village.A good year
Ed Harris, president and CEO of Discover Lancaster, the county’s tourism destination agency, has predicted the county’s visitation would land between 2021 and 2022. He has not ruled out beating 2022’s record.
While staffing has improved and inflation has come down, the economy has slowed.
Here's a look at how some tourism venues are faring this yearWe gathered this information from Discover Lancaster reports from its recent board meetings and email interviews with some operators.
He said that it was remarkable that lodging revenue June through October matched 2022. Room nights were down about 4%.
“We’re having a very strong year for tourism, especially at our attractions. There’s a lot of optimism in tourism and hospitality,” Harris said. “Whether we top 2022 is an open question. Regardless, we think we’ll have a good finish to the year.”
Sight & Sound’s “Moses,” which closed in October, was its best return-show year ever, said Katie Miller, director of marketing and communications. Moses closed at 615,000 tickets, which was 95% of ticket capacity for the run. Miller said Sight & Sound had originally projected selling 500,000 tickets - in line with previous return-year shows. Sight & Sound is part of many bus tours and drives a lot of visits to the area.
“Miracle of Christmas” opened earlier this month and has sold 96% of tickets for the run, essentially selling out. Sight & Sound is offering a broadcast of the show beginning Friday at sight-sound.tv .“All in all, we are projecting to have a total of 780,000 people come through our doors this year,” Miller said.
Some venues noticed lower demand when Sight & Sound went dark in October to prepare for its Christmas show.
At Kitchen Kettle Village, owner Michelle Rondinelli said marketing from Discover Lancaster has boosted an already successful year spurred by the tour buses to shows at Sight & Sound. Last year, Kitchen Kettle added a new 2,250-square-foot building, which allowed for expansion of The Olive Basin and changes to a few stores.
“This area has a lot to offer,” she said. “ We continue to look at things. We watch what’s happening in the economy. Those are things we can’t control. We focus on what we do well and what will bring more people to visit and create an experience for them.”
October through December is now Kitchen Kettle’s busiest quarter and the company is focused on visitor experience during that time.
LODGING REVENUE
###LODGING DEMAND
Shoulder season
The addition of events at two of the county’s main attractions, Dutch Wonderland, a family amusement park in East Lampeter Township, and Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire, a 16th Century styled village festival at Mount Hope Estate & Winery in Rapho Township, are expected to further expand a growing so-called shoulder season, the off-peak summer travel period that has become more popular in the last decade.“Dutch Wonderland has invested a lot in its shoulder season events,” said Lyndsey Winters, a spokesperson for Palace Entertainment, which owns the amusement park and Cartoon Network Hotel.
Among the additions at Dutch Wonderland is a newly built cabin called “Santa’s Jolly Lodge.” Courtney Burkarth, marketing director, said the expansion of the season includes opening on New Year’s Day and new light shows. All told there are 10 new experiences including Duke’s Blizzard Bash - a dance party around a snow machine in the center square.
“Our Halloween event, expanded with nine new experiences, was the most visited Halloween event we ever had and we’re hoping that translates into Christmas as well,” Burkarth said.
Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire’s new Yuletide event is pre-selling well, said Candace Smith, communications and operations director. Before it opened after Thanksgiving it had sold 50% of its planned tickets.
The Faire is coming off a busy fall that saw record crowds despite six Saturdays of rain, she said. The final numbers were not available yet.
The three-weekend long Yuletide will have outdoor tower heaters and covered seating, she said.
“It’s kind of a scary prospect,” Smith said. “It’s almost even more weather dependent than the Faire... It's an interesting tourism trend right now: People are willing to go outside in strange weather.”
Perhaps, she said, it is a carryover from the pandemic when everyone was going outdoors for recreation.
Yuletide is an immersive experience like the Renaissance Faire with a festive holiday vibe. It will have a cast of characters to interact with visitors including Father Christmas, the Snow Queen, Jack Frost, Sugar Plum Fairies and fan favorite Krampus.
An interesting food offering, in addition to Ren Faire’s popular turkey leg, will be a twist on a Scotch egg, a turducken Scotch egg. There will be s’more kits from Stroopies and a fire pit, among the things to do.
Weather, pricing challenges
According to CoStar, a travel research company, Lancaster County’s hotel occupancy rate from January through October was 58.1%, down from 60% for the same period in 2022. The occupancy rate for all of 2022 was 57.5%, according to Discover Lancaster.“We’re expecting very strong months and maybe even a record December,” said Stephen Sikking, owner of Eden Resort and the Steamboat Inn.
Will December weather be significant to affect tourism in Lancaster County? Long-term forecasts indicate heavy snow and bitter cold – seasonal weather that might affect tourists – are likely to hold off until the end o...Sikking said through October hotels faced a softening economy but overnight stays were bolstered by tours to Sight & Sound’s “Moses.” Rainy weekends also dampened bookings.
“This area is very dependent on the weather,” Sikking said. “It was dreary if it was not raining for six to eight weekends in early fall. It all makes an impact.”
Sikking noted that even if it is a record year for revenues or room demand, it is likely not one for profits: Labor and supplies costs have increased. Weekday business travelers have not returned to pre-pandemic numbers, though weekday rooms tend to cost less.
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