Mar 17, 2016 5 min read

Pennsylvania has a new tourism slogan inviting visitors to pursue their happiness in the Keystone State.

Now, a statewide hospitality trade group says Harrisburg needs to adequately fund its promotional efforts for what is a $40 billion industry.

On March 8, the state Department of Economic and Community Development, along with the Pennsylvania Tourism Partnership unveiled the slogan, “Pennsylvania. Pursue Your Happiness.” According to a news release from DCED, which includes the operations of Pennsylvania Tourism Office beneath its operational umbrella, the tagline reflects the famous call to “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness” that began with America’s Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia in 1776.

Now, those involved in Pennsylvania’s hospitality industry would like to see the state put its money where its mouth is.

Earlier this week, the Pennsylvania Restaurant & Lodging Association presented a study to the Senate Community, Economic and Recreational Development Committee. The independent “tourism economics” study commissioned by the Pennsylvania Tourism Coalition recommends increasing Pennsylvania’s tourism line-item in the budget to $35 million for the next four years.

According to the study, Pennsylvania ranks last in the country for state tourism funding relative to industry size, 36th by dollar amount and 44th per industry job.

It also notes prior to 2010, Pennsylvania’s funding was among the top 10 in the country, competitive with Florida and Michigan, and highest among its regional competitors.

“The hospitality and tourism industries for years have argued that investing in tourism creates jobs and tax revenue,” said John Longstreet, president and chief executive officer of PRLA and leader of the tourism coalition.

“The TE study confirms our position, and goes a step further by plugging in the numbers.”

According to the study, every dollar invested in tourism promotion would yield $3.43 in tax revenue for the commonwealth. Restoring the tourism budget to $35 million would yield $275 million in state taxes over four years.

State Sen. Kim Ward, R-Westmoreland County, chair of the Senate Community, Economic and Recreational Development committee, said the study “affirms and quantifies the significant impact the Pennsylvania travel and tourism industry has on Pennsylvanians in terms of job creation and the Pennsylvania economy overall.”

State Sen. Camera Bartolotta, R-Carroll Township, who serves on the committee, said Thursday the recommended budget amount for tourism should be viewed as an investment that can bring a significant return.

“Let’s invest in Pennsylvania through the Bureau of Tourism to get a return on these dollars,” she said. “It’s a guaranteed return on investment dollars.”

PRLA’s request to Harrisburg is a move with which those involved with promoting tourism in Washington and Greene counties wholeheartedly support.

“This report confirms what we in the industry have already seen over the past several years – that the continued lack of investment in the state’s tourism efforts is having a direct negative effect on our economy and our market share continues to decline,” said Jeff Kotula, president of the Washington County Tourism Promotion Agency.

“For Pennsylvania, which is home to Independence Hall, Carnegie Museums, Meadowcroft Rockshelter and Historic Village, Pennsylvania Trolley Museum and countless other entertainment and historical venues, to be ranked 35th in the nation in tourism funding demonstrates that the state needs to place a priority on the hundreds of thousands of jobs and businesses supported by the tourism industry.”

According to Kotula, tourism in Washington County is a major contributor to the local economy, supporting nearly 6,000 jobs and generating $80.1 million in federal and state tax revenues.

“We recognize the importance of this industry and continue to invest locally in marketing and promoting the industry for our county, but we need the state to be as committed to the industry and increase its investment to attract visitors to our state.”

What Kotula would like to see is a sustained state commitment to tourism that would promote Pennsylvania on a national level, and in turn attract more visitors to the various regions of the state.

As it stands now, Kotula said, the state spends about $3 million annually on tourism, with about half going to special tourism projects and the other half, about $1.5 million, spent on staffing, promotion and advertising.

He acknowledged the county’s 3 percent tourism tax collected from hotels generates about $1.5 million a year and enables WCTPA to promote its attractions.

But he noted the glaring similarity between the county’s spending and the state’s.

“The $1.4 million to $1.5 million a year that we’re spending in our county to promote tourism here is what the state spends on a national level,” Kotula said. “That’s embarrassing.”

Elizabeth Menhart, director of Greene County Tourism Promotion Agency in Waynesburg, agreed the current lack of tourism funding at the state level is frustrating.

While Greene County also levies a 3 percent hotel tax to fund its tourism efforts, Menhart said it once received some assistance from the state.

That amount, which stood at $5,500 in 2010, fell to $3,308 in 2011, then plummeted to $400 in 2012, the last year the county received any state money, she said.

“We don’t even count on it in terms of our budget,” said Menhart, whose agency promotes the county as “a family-friendly place” with festivals and history.

Around the time state tourism funding was “whittled away to nothing” four years ago, Menhart noted Greene’s hotels and restaurants were benefitting from the oil and gas industry boom, a situation that declined with the downturn in the natural gas industry.

Now, the challenge is to find other travelers to help fill that void, she said.

Like Kotula, Menhart said she would like to see the state be financially able to promote its tourism offerings to other parts of the country, with the prospect of bringing more people across state lines to pursue their happiness in places like Greene County.

She’d also like to see the return of individual grants for various county tourism promotion agencies.

As for the study calling for the need for a fully funded budget for state tourism promotion, Menhart said, “It was a real eye-opener.”