Visit Bucks County Supports Local Tourism Industry

Tourism in Bucks County is strong not just because the region has great attractions for visitors, but because of the hard work done by the county’s tourism agency, .

That was the group’s message at its annual meeting on Friday at in Bensalem.

Visit Bucks Executive Director Jerry Lepping and Marketing Director Paul Bencivengo gave an update on the agency’s successes and initiatives.

“Visitor spending in Bucks County generates $814 million in local economic impact and an additional $111 million in federal, state and local taxes,” said Lepping. “It also supports more than 11,000 jobs annually, translating to 5 percent of all jobs in the county.”

Lepping noted that Visit Bucks is working smarter with less money.

“Funding this fiscal period was cut to zero when just five years ago the tourism agency for Bucks County received nearly $300,000 from the state of Pennsylvania,” he said.

Despite the weak economy, Lepping said there were strong indicators of growth in the sports, group and wedding markets as well as hotel traffic and the meeting/event business.

“The positive traffic and sales our partners have experienced during the past few years are a true testament to the value our organization brings to the area,” he said.

Bencivengo focused on the group’s marketing and communications efforts, including:

• 2,000 downloads of Visit Bucks mobile applications on Android, iPhone and Blackberry devices and nearly 45,000 visits to the mobile site
• Visits to VisitBucksCounty.com up 4.5 percent
• Advertising on hundreds of trains in New York and North Jersey
• Wrapped double-decker buses in New York
• Print advertising in showbills, magazines, and newpapers in Philadelphia and New York
• Public relations efforts resulted in over 150 stories in local, regional and national media
• Visitor centers assisted 55,000 visitors and fielded 4,300 calls
• 25,000 followers on various social media outlets including Facebook, Twitter, Foodspotting and Foursquare

Bar owner Pete Ciarrocchi, of Chickie’s & Pete’s fame, was the event’s keynote speaker.

He vouched for the importance of social media, noting that a customer on Facebook started an initiative which landed the title - Best Sports Bar in North America by ESPN.

“It’s powerful stuff,” Ciarrocchi said.

He was very excited about his two Bucks County locations – one in Parx and his newest place in Warrington. He was also excited about the growth he’s seen in the county.

While growing up in Northeast Philly Ciarrocchi always looked at Bucks County as a green place with “lots of grass and trees and houses that weren’t stuck together.” Now, with Parx and other great local attractions, Bucks County is now the envy of many other areas in the region, he said.

“It’s great here in Bucks County,” he said.