LANCASTER, Pa. — Discover Lancaster on Tuesday announced the formation of a new Lancaster County Ice Cream Trail while highlighting some of what's new in the local tourism industry as the summer season approaches.
The nonprofit organization, which is Lancaster County's official destination marketing entity, also released its 2022 tourism economic impact report, which it said shows further industry increases over 2021.
“It’s great to see that Lancaster County tourism continued to grow even more last year, off a solid 2021,” said Edward Harris, president/CEO of Discover Lancaster. “Leisure travel kept increasing in 2022, making our overall visitation numbers higher than pre-pandemic 2019 levels for the second year in a row.
"We also made further gains in restoring both group travel and the workforce that sustains our industry and allows it to make such a major contribution to the area’s economy."
The Lancaster County Ice Cream Trail is a "delicious way to celebrate summer & explore the county via the wide geographic range of its 25 stops," Discover Lancaster said.
Trail users are eligible for store discounts and can redeem points for a branded mini cow, mason jar, or insulated cooler bag from Discover Lancaster.
The Ice Cream Trail is completely FREE and instantly delivered to you via email/text. Users can visit the county's many quaint ice cream shops - some of which are even located on working dairy farms.
To sign up, go here.
Discover Lancaster's 2022 tourism report was compiled by the respected analysis firm Tourism Economics, the organization said.
Among the report's highlights:
- An estimated 9.77 million visitors to Lancaster County who directly spent $2.45 billion in 2022, representing gains of 7.1% and 15.5%, respectively, over 2021.
- This visitor spending supported 24,481 county jobs in total, including 15,996 direct industry jobs. These figures both grew by 5-6% last year and keep tourism in the Top 10 largest non-agriculture private sector employers in the county, but also show the notable number of jobs that remain outstanding, as they are still 6-7% below 2019 levels.
Building on lodging revenues and website users for January through April of this year, which are already up 5-7% from last year, Discover Lancaster said it also optimistic for the rest of 2023, thanks to new attractions like the Ice Cream Trail.
"Another great new way to explore is on the recently-introduced Lancaster Electric Bicycle Tour from Unique Lancaster Experiences," Discover Lancaster said. "This fun three-hour guided tour incorporates four historical parts of Lancaster City."
There’s more outdoor fun with the first full year of river tours on Susquehanna National Heritage Area’s new historic electric boat “Chief Uncas” or spectacular views from the Safe Harbor railroad trestle bridge along the Enola Low Grade multi-use trail, Discover Lancaster said.
Route and equipment upgrades have also been made to Lititz Bikeworks’ bike share offering on the Warwick-Ephrata Rail Trail.
In addition, Discover Lancaster is promoting fresh area offerings like:
- a re-freshed production of “Moses” returning to Sight & Sound Theatres after nine years
- the 60th anniversary season at Dutch Wonderland, with a new ride & entertainment
- newer dining & retail spots in Lancaster City, like Proof Lancaster, 401 Prime, and A Concrete Rose
- new & expanded stores at Kitchen Kettle Village, and Bird-in-Hand’s just-opened Artisan Village
- Lancaster Science Factory’s new Sky Bridge – 35 climber panels reaching up to a height of 25 feet
- Eden Resort & Suites’ new Bistro 2two2 dining experience AND a second pool & cabanas rentals
