LANCASTER, Pa. — As the world’s best female golfers descend on Lancaster Country Club for this week’s U.S. Women’s Open, the local business community in the surrounding area is gearing up for an uptick in customers.
The United States Golf Association, which oversees the U.S. Open, estimates the economic impact of the tournament to be up to $30 million. Business owners are already seeing some of that extra money come in.
"We saw a few golfers were probably in for dinner last night," said John Moeller, the owner and head chef of Greenfield Restaurant and Bar, located just outside the country club. "I'm seeing an increase at this point in time, and as we move through Saturday, it's going to be definitely a good impact on the business for the week here."
The economic impact is expected to come through increased dining, as well as hotel and shopping, revenue from the combination of visitors, tournament workers, broadcasters and players themselves.
"When it comes to tourism impacts, there's direct, indirect and induced," said Joel Cliff, the communications director for Discover Lancaster. "That third level of induced, which I think a lot of people forget about, is that employee spending further dollars within the local market. So all in all, it benefits a lot of different businesses that you might not necessarily think about when you think about the tournament."
It’s all part of the exposure that Lancaster County will receive with the women’s golf world converging on the area, and Cliff says he hopes the spectators enjoy all it has to offer.
"We're excited to show it off this week," Cliff said. "And we hope folks enjoy their time here and get to do a few other things along the way."
The first round of the U.S. Women's Open begins Thursday morning and will continue throughout Sunday.