Have you ever wondered why the millions of tourists who visit Gettysburg and Adams County each year come here rather than visiting somewhere else?
The answer, in part, is the nonprofit tourist association Destination Gettysburg (DG). After over 50 years of service to the tourism industry of Adams County, DG has created a state-of-the-art marketing machine to attract tourists.
Originally established as the Gettysburg Travel Council in 1955, the mission of DG is to create a positive visitor experience while preserving the area’s rich cultural heritage. DG spreads the word about Adams County to people across the country with the goal of filling the county’s 2,500 hotel rooms.
DG is one of 47 Tourism Promotion Agencies in the state. DG has 14 full-time staff and 9 part-time employees who assist with visitor services. The organization pays about $730,000 per year in wages.
According to Stacey Fox, DG’s vice president, their hard work has been successful. Fox pointed to a 60.7 percent tourist repeat visitation rate, which she said was at an all-time high. She noted that “lots of people come here many times per year and stay overnight.”
“The tourism industry continues to be one of the most important industries in the county, with nearly 6,000 jobs,” said Fox.
The DG budget is about $2 million a year, which allows them to do a lot. DG hires outside consultants, collects relevant data, and buys media advertisements in print, digital, and social media formats. DG says 86 percent of the budget is used on sales and marketing expenses, while the remainder goes to administrative costs.
Like what you’re reading? Sign up here for our newsletter to get stories like this (and much more!) delivered straight to your inbox every Sunday.
The funds come primarily from the five percent lodging (“pillow”) tax, which is collected by the county from visitors who stay in hotels and other lodging in the county. As proscribed by state law, Adams County retains an administrative fee of 4.5 percent for collecting the tax (up to a rolling maximum which was $99,313), and 75 percent of the remainder goes to DG for marketing purposes. The remaining 25 percent is distributed between the county and any Adams County municipality with lodging facilities and a full-time police force of at least two officers. The money that’s distributed to the county, per state law, can only be used for economic development, historic preservation, and law enforcement.
This table represents the approximate distribution of Adams County lodging tax funds in 2018:
About nine percent of DG funds come from dues paid by its members: Nearly 350 local businesses, events, and organizations.
DG believes the money spent is worth it because it brings tourism to Gettysburg. They point out, for instance, that at least some portion of the money that Gettysburg Borough collects in parking revenue comes from tourism and argue that at least some of those tourists come to Adams County as a result of their advertising.
DG is changing their marketing approaches to attract younger generations with different interests. “Younger visitors may be looking at other reasons to come here,” said DG president Norris Flowers.
In 2013 DG created a contemporary messaging campaign based on data collected from conversations with visitors. The campaign focused in part on increasing the diversity of tourists to the county.
Fox said the average age of visitors to the area was reduced from 52 to 48 after the campaign.
“We’re so much more than a battlefield,” said Fox. “We have a foodie scene and a craft beverage scene.”
“We want to help spread the visitor out into the county,” said Fox, noting that “foodie travelers are more likely to do history than vice-versa.”
In addition to advertising, DG also helps the community by contributing to local nonprofits including Main Street Gettysburg. DG also sponsors the Adams County Pour Tour, a craft wine, beer, cider and spirits tour.
DG is active on social media with about 40,000 Facebook and 5,000 Instagram followers, and operates three websites which include a blog, an events calendar, maps, and data about tourism in the county.
DG also provides free downloads of the My Gettysburg App which visitors can use to learn about the county from their smart phones.
Main Street Gettysburg CEO Deb Adamik said their organization is “very appreciative for DG’s annual contribution. We appreciate the recent increase of their annual contribution to $27,500 from $20,000.” This represents “15% of our overall operations budget,” said Adamik.
- Visit DG online at destinationgettysburg.com.
- Learn about Adams County tourism at gettysburgtourismworks.com.
- Read the DG blog at roadtogettysburg.com.
- Visit Destination Gettysburg at their office at 1560 Fairfield Road, Gettysburg.
- Phone: 717.334.6274 or 1.800.337.5015
Charles (Chuck) Stangor is Gettysburg Connection's Owner, Publisher, and Editor in Chief. I would like to hear from you. Please contact me at cstangor@gettysburgconnection.org.