BUCKS COUNTY, PA (October 16, 2024) – More than 200 tourism and hospitality professionals and local organizations gathered at Visit Bucks County’s (VBC) Annual Event on Wednesday, October 15.
Doug Miller, VBC’s Board Chair, opened the meeting at Spring Mill Manor highlighting Visit Bucks County’s ongoing commitment to supporting the tourism industry through strategic sales and marketing efforts and advocacy for Bucks County’s hospitality businesses.
Miller also highlighted Visit Bucks County’s ongoing partnership with the County of Bucks through the Bucks County Tourism Grant Program. Now in its 18th year, the Bucks County Tourism Grant Program has distributed more than $7.2 million to more than 140 hospitality organizations to help grow marketing reach, support local businesses, and enhance the visitor experience.
Paul Bencivengo, President & CEO of Visit Bucks County, conveyed the importance of collaboration with local economic and workforce development agencies, along with regional and state tourism organizations. “By working together, we can amplify Bucks County’s visibility on both the national and international stages in 2026 and beyond,” Bencivengo added.
Bencivengo also shared data, research, and the annual analysis of the economic impact of visitor spending in the county. “In 2024, Bucks County welcomed more than 8.4 million visitors, generating a record breaking $1.3 billion in economic impact and supporting a total hospitality workforce of 29,104 jobs.” The full report is available here. (source: Tourism Economics)
2025 has been a positive year for the travel industry, with Bucks County lodging occupancy trending higher than 2024. Year to date, occupancy is up 1.5% through August and revenue per available room (RevPAR) exceeds 2024 levels by 2.2%. (source: STR, Inc.)
With several events coming to the region next year, notably America’s 250th birthday and the FIFA World Cup, Bucks County lodging room revenue is projected to grow by 4.4% in 2026. (source: Tourism Economics)
Visit Bucks County’s Industry Relations and Visitor Services team canvassed the County, hosting eight roundtables with hundreds of tourism and hospitality professionals, visiting lodging properties, and gathering information on new openings and events — all to support and promote the more than 1,500 tourism and hospitality businesses.
Sales efforts continue to drive ongoing engagement and growth for VBC, generating 4,100 leads across 20 tradeshows. In 2025, VBC participated in eight wedding expos, connecting with more than 8,900 couples as the weddings market remains a key contributor to Bucks County’s local economy. The group tour market has also seen growth, with VBC attending six industry shows, strengthening relationships with more than 900 group tour operators and group leaders.
Additionally, the mobile visitor center engaged with more than 9,000 visitors and potential visitors across 60 festivals events within Bucks County and the New York, New Jersey and Washington DC markets.
Heather Walter, Senior Director of Marketing & Communications, shared ongoing efforts to maintain momentum around Visit Bucks County’s seasonal branding by updating and optimizing marketing initiatives to ensure Bucks County remains visible to audiences across geographies, demographics and content preferences. Walter noted a large momentum boost came in the beginning of the year when Bucks County was featured in The New York Times as a rival to the Hamptons.
After launching the newly redesigned VisitBucksCounty.com in December, overall users are up 8%, pageviews have increased by 12%, and redesigned event pages have seen an impressive 77% growth.
To fuel this growth, the team conducted extensive keyword research to create new web content optimized for both traditional and AI-driven searches. As a result, social channels have seen record growth, notably in audience and video views increased 28% and 18% respectively compared to last year.
Walter also highlighted the ongoing success of the Bucks County Ale Trail kept fresh through the team’s continued focus on product development. Through the month of August, Visit Bucks County launched a check-in challenge to win an exclusive hoodie. All limited-edition hoodies were claimed in one week, generating 1,7000 visits across Ale Trail breweries. Since inception, the Bucks County Ale Trail has logged 25,400 redemptions, 84,600 brewery visits and fulfilled more than 8,800 prizes.
By aligning advertising and paid search campaigns, and refining video streaming strategy to be highly focused in VBC’s target markets, Bucks County continues to earn more attention through media and influencer recognition. Recent highlights include a Philadelphia Magazine cover feature, USA Today naming Peddler’s Village one of the nation’s top shopping centers, and coverage in the Washingtonian, a key market where Visit Bucks County has focused on driving traffic from.
Now, the fall season takes center stage with Bucks County being named the #1 fall destination in Pennsylvania and a top destination by Priceline and in Travel & Leisure.
2026 is full of opportunity for Bucks County and the VBC team will be leaning in with sales, marketing, research and partner support. A brand-new commercial is being filmed to air in Spring 2026. With Bucks County’s rich Revolutionary War history, targeted itineraries and partnerships are being developed to attract visitors traveling to commemorate America’s 250th anniversary. In addition, Bucks County’s proximity to both MetLife Stadium and Lincoln Financial Field places it at the heart of the FIFA World Cup, positioning Bucks County as the ideal overnight stay for fans to see matches in both cities.
Visit Bucks County’s Annual Event concluded with guest speaker Anne Ryan, Deputy Secretary of Tourism for Pennsylvania. Ryan gave an overview of the state’s campaigns, visitor volume, and social media growth before echoing Bucks County’s enthusiasm for 2026. Opportunity stretches across the entire state and, with its proximity to both New York and Philadelphia, Bucks County is at the center of it.
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Contact:
Megan Connelly
Communications & Marketing Coordinator
Visit Bucks County
215-639-0300 ext. 237
About Visit Bucks County
Visit Bucks County (VBC) promotes travel to and within Bucks County, Pennsylvania. As the County’s official destination marketing organization, VBC drives visitation, increases overnight stays and fuels the local economy by promoting all there is to see and do in Bucks County. VBC supports local businesses in the tourism and hospitality industry, including lodging, attractions, restaurants, retail, events and more. Annually, Bucks County welcomes more than 8.4 million visitors, generating more than $1.3 billion dollars in economic impact and supporting a total hospitality workforce of more than 29,104 jobs.
