How to Drive Visitors to Your Lancaster County Business
Everyone in Lancaster County knows that tourism is vital to our local economy. Tourism attracts visitors not only from neighboring states, but also brings guest to our area from Europe, the Far East and India. While the Amish and Plain People’s way of life is a major draw, visitors are also searching for good food, exciting entertainment, comfortable accommodations and interesting shopping experiences. Most tourists find loads of marketing that drives activities associated with the Amish. However, our area’s restaurants, shops, lodging and entertainments have not always done as good of a job of marketing to travelers.
If visitors aren’t aware of your unique offerings, you’re leaving a substantial sum of money on the table. According to research done for Discover Lancaster, over 8 million people visited Lancaster County last year. They spent almost $2 billion in 2015, making tourism one of the fuels that drives the Lancaster County economy. In 2015, tourism industry employment was 8.2% greater than in 2011, representing more than 1,200 new jobs.
Every tourism marketer knows that if business is close to a big tourist attraction, good signage and smart merchandising may be enough to keep you profitable. But, what if you’re not next to an Amish farm? What if no one around you is selling quilts or jam? Without the staples of traditional Lancaster County tourism, you may find you’re not getting your share of the billions visitors spend each year. You will have to work harder and market smarter to ensure tourists spend their dollars at your business.
USE THE RIGHT SEARCH TERMS
Travelers can quickly get overwhelmed when planning a trip. Increasingly people are going online to get the answers to their travel questions. It’s no surprise to tourism veterans that people start thinking about trips weeks, even months ahead. Google research shows that 37% of travelers think about vacation planning at least once a month; 17% think about it at least once a week. When these travelers are ready to start mapping out itineraries, they go online. Expedia reports that the average person visits 38 sites when planning a trip. If you want Lancaster County tourists to consider your business, you need to be easy to find and rank high on relevant searches. Smart SEO strategies combined with paid search campaigns will ensure your best customers find you at the right time.
REACH TRAVELERS IN THE MOMENT
In the past year, conversion rates have grown 88% on mobile travel sites. Reaching travelers on their phones, at moments when they’re in Lancaster County, can have a significant impact on your bottom line. LNP Media Group offers a wide range of mobile marketing strategies, including geo-fenced ads that only appear on phones when the visitors are close to your business.
TAP INTO STAYCATIONS
One of the hottest trends in vacations is staying home. “Staycations” give hard-working folks in Lancaster County a chance to rest up or catch up on home improvements. A recent AAA survey found that only 35 percent of Americans are planning on traveling more than 50 miles from their home this year for their family vacation. While staycationers may want to spend more time in their backyard, they’re still open to having fun eating out, visiting local shops or catching the latest play. Make sure your business is a well-known destination for locals as well as out-of-town visitors. You’ll not only attract staycationers, you’ll get more local business all year long.
DON’T FORGET ABOUT TOURISM GUIDES
Printed tourism guides are still a staple for visitors to Lancaster County. Each year visitors pick up millions of guides. One of the best is Visiting Lancaster, published by LNP Media Group and distributed to thousands of visitors each year in hotel rooms and at tourist information centers. Our guide mixes compelling content on area attractions with well curated ads.
Ready to step up your tourist marketing efforts? Contact us to find out how LNP Media Group can help your Lancaster County business attract more visitors here and abroad.
LNP Media Group is committed to delivering exceptional experiences to our audiences, our customers, our vendors and our employees throughout Lancaster County and Central Pennsylvania. We provide value to our marketing and advertising partners by building effective and innovative solutions and by delivering exemplary customer experiences.
LNP Media Group is a division of Steinman Communications, one of the largest and most experienced communications companies in the Mid-Atlantic. Steinman Communications is an innovative, multi-channel communications company that delivers high quality news, information and entertainment to diverse audiences.