Tourism numbers already dropping significantly in Gettysburg; plans being made for summer

In Adams County, everything centers around tourism.

But, thanks to COVID-19 and stay-at-home orders, the county has been a little quieter recently.

A public use report from the National Park Service notes that in March 2019, there were a total of 63,332 visits at Gettysburg National Military Park, whereas data in March 2020 shows that there were 36,558 total visits, a 42 percent decrease.

“With schools closed, we’re missing a major element at this time – educational trips,” said Jason Martz, the acting visual information specialist and public affairs officer for Gettysburg National Military Park and Eisenhower National Historic Memorial Site. “Obviously, things have been quieter, and it’s unfortunate that it couldn’t happen.”

The battlefield, roads and trails remain open, but the museum, visitor center, observation towers, restrooms and the stairs to the Pennsylvania Memorial have been closed.

“Things with a lot of touching – railings, staircases – those elements have been closed,” Martz said.

The park is planning for different scenarios for what the park might look like when Gov. Tom Wolf changes Adams County from red restrictions to yellow, Martz said.

However, tourists can still view Gettysburg from home. Recently, the park released a virtual tour on its website, something that Martz says has been in the works before COVID-19.

“Those who can’t get to the battlefield can now virtually visit,” Martz said.

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#AdamsTogether

As the largest industry in Adams County, tourism supports more than 5,000 jobs, bringing in more than $735 million from tourism and 3.8 million visitors, according to Destination Gettysburg.

Despite the shutdowns and stay-at-home orders in Pennsylvania, Destination Gettysburg has been working to restore tourism in the county with a marketing campaign that starts with a unifying message.

The hashtag #AdamsTogether launched on April 28. The Facebook group “Adams Together” was also created for local businesses to share updates with community members.

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“We’re trying to communicate with community organizations through #AdamsTogether,” said Norris Flowers, president of Destination Gettysburg. “We will pull through this if we stick together.”

The tourism group also released and shared it in Destination Gettysburg newsletters and social media channels, which reaches out to visitors and community members.

And the final piece of the marketing campaign involves recovery marketing, focusing on bringing visitors back to the destination to stimulate and sustain the economy.

“It’s been devastating,” Norris said. “We had a record pace of hotel sales in January and February in Adams County. We had a good winter, and now would be the time for business to start to pick up (for the summer.) The timing couldn’t be worse.”

According to a news release, Destination Gettysburg is utilizing several tools to track consumer confidence, watch trends in the tourism industry and monitor local lodging bookings in real time. 

“This (marketing plan) is to keep businesses in survival mode,” Norris said. “We want to be safe and to prevent not-too-early timing.”

Norris said that after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and the 2008 recession, tourism in Adams County bounced back pretty quickly compared to other locations.

“I think we will get back up, once we get the green light,” Norris said.

Follow Destination Gettysburg on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.