Valley Forge Tourism Board reports industry continues to recover

Tourism in Montgomery County is making great strides in recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic. The Valley Forge Tourism and Convention Board reports that the county’s hospitality industry is within 98.9% of pre-pandemic levels.

The tourism agency released its annual report highlighting the economic impact of the hospitality industry in Montgomery County during its annual luncheon on Oct. 26 — sharing an optimistic outlook with the more than 600 event attendees.

The theme for this year’s report is “Focus,” with the Valley Forge Tourism and Convention Board saying it remains focused on “inspiring visitors to travel to and fall in love with” Montgomery County.

Tourism continues to be a key driver of the county’s economy, the agency reported, adding that visitor spending in the past year generated $1.6 billion in positive impact, according to Tourism Economics — a 14.4% increase over the previous year and just shy of pre-pandemic spending numbers.

“I’m so proud of how the VFTCB staff has remained focused to support our hoteliers and our entire tourism industry in Montco,” Mike Bowman, Valley Forge Tourism and Convention Board president & CEO, said in a statement. “The team’s commitment to innovation and creativity is just remarkable and one of the many reasons why Montgomery County continues to lead and outperform the region.”

In reporting achievements for the fiscal year, the tourism board said the 83 hotels in Montgomery County are “leading the suburban market” with an average daily rate of $133. The properties are producing more than $200 million in hotel room revenue, which represents a 9% increase over 2022, according to the report. In June, hotel revenue was the highest ever, according to a press release, reaching $29.3 million and an average daily rate of $147.

Sports is another area with positive results. In fact, the Valley Forge Tourism and Convention Board sports team reported a record-breaking summer. The county hosted 35 sporting events with record-high attendance, generating more than 85,000 total room nights. According to Lisa Karl, Valley Forge Tourism and Convention Board vice president of sales & strategic partnerships, the performance resulted in $23 million in economic impact, up 19% over last year.

The U.S. Youth Soccer Eastern President’s Cup, held June 16-20, was the single largest sporting event to ever come to Montgomery County, according to the annual report. The tournament was held at the Proving Grounds in Conshohocken and Plymouth Whitemarsh High School and generated 5,000 room nights and $5 million in economic impact.

In 2024, the county will play host to the YMCA Gymnastics Nationals, which the tourism board expects to be even larger than the soccer tournament.

In terms of the Valley Forge Tourism and Convention Board’s total group business, sports is contributing more than 70% of the agency’s group business, up 11% over 2022 and up 28% over 2019, according to information in a press release.

The keynote speaker for the event was Nicole Lynn, agent to Philadelphia Eagles quarterback, Jalen Hurts. Lynn spoke about being a Black woman in the sports business and staying focused on all of life’s distractions. She also talked about continuing to build her brand since “brokering one of the largest deals in sports history,” according to the release.

Those in attendance at the annual event were among some of the first to see several new Valley Forge Tourism and Convention Board videos.

Karl premiered the agency’s new sports and meetings videos, which were created in partnership with Parody Studios and Seven Knots Film & Media.

In addition, the tourism board’s marketing and communications team premiered a new video that will be used to promote the agency’s upcoming holiday campaign. The marketing and communications team also reported on total webpage views — exceeding 1.5 million and 500,000 new users.

Additionally, the Valley Forge Tourism and Convention Board reported that Visit Valley Forge’s following on social media has grown to more than 210,000 with 3.5 million video views. The editorial reach of the agency has had a reach of more than 2.4 million to date.