Tourism is important to Washington
I enjoyed reading the recent letter from Jeff Kotula, the president of the Washington County Chamber of Commerce, on “the business of tourism.”
Kotula did a great job outlining how important tourism is to Washington County’s economy and the many jobs it creates. At the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum, our paid staff and many volunteers have worked hard to fulfill our mission of preserving and interpreting the trolley era and attracting visitors to Washington County.
Just recently, “Daniel Tiger’s Weekend” brought 3,200 visitors over six days with some coming from as far away as Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Tennessee, West Virginia, Virginia and Washington. We were told by some of these visitors that they planned their vacation around seeing Daniel Tiger.
Washington County’s excellent location, particularly at the crossroads of I-70 and I-79, and a nice mix of attractions, helps to bring visitors to Washington County. We have been fortunate to be able to utilize Showclix, a Pittsburgh-based online ticket service, to help with our premium events.
Visitors are able to buy tickets online in advance for specific days and times, which allows us to better handle the logistics of larger events, so these events run quite smoothly.
Scott R. Becker
Washington
Becker is the executive director of the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum in Arden.