The growth in Warren County’s tourism industry — especially when compared to our neighboring counties in the Pennsylvania Wilds — is impressive.

By most measures Warren County increased tourist spending on food and beverages, recreation, retail spending, transportation and overall spending at a higher percentage than neighboring counties. Part of that is due to the amenities Warren County offers. We’re blessed to be home to Allegheny National Forest, Allegheny Reservoir, trails, Chapman State Park, Kinzua Dam, camping, fall foliage, scenic overlooks and water activities. There really is a lot to draw people here when they want to get away from the hustle and bustle of life.

But places only do so much. What we have is a draw for some – but to log the type of growth the 2024 Economic Impact of Travel and Tourism report shows takes more than simply rolling out the welcome mat and hoping people find us. Warren County Visitors Bureau, members of the Route 6 Alliance and a host of volunteers are coming together to create new reasons to attract tourists. That includes new events, like Kinzua Rocks the Wake, that create additional reasons for people to spend money in local shops, hotels, gas stations and vendors at events. It also includes a lot of legwork traveling outside of the area to try to spread the word about what Warren County has to offer and getting Warren County in front of state and regional tourism officials. We’d be remiss if we didn’t mention that it requires the county to be smart, like the initiative to analyze visitor data to get a better sense of where people are visiting from in an attempt to use our marketing dollars in places where tourists who visit Warren County live.

Growing the tourism economy here from $190.8 million in 2023 to $216.3 million dollars in 2024 didn’t just happen. It took a lot of work by a lot of people. Their work has paid off.

Warren County’s statistics in the 2024 Economic Impact of Travel and Tourism report are a sign that the work area officials have done to attract people to our county is paying off. While it’s difficult to count on such explosive growth each year, the willingness to embrace new ideas, approaches and events is one way to keep tourism growth coming.

It’s worth noting that reports like the 2024 Economic Impact of Travel and Tourism report don’t actually capture the entire impact events and attractions have on our economy. While we’re measuring dollars spent by people from outside the area, events like Kinzua Rocks the Wake or the return of a rib festival to downtown Warren aren’t entirely aimed at visitors. They generate dollars from inside Warren County, too, by getting Warren County to spend time and money locally.