KING OF PRUSSIA, PA – The Valley Forge Tourism and Convention Board released its 2020 Annual Report. Here are the top takeaways. More of the 2020 Annual Report can be found here.

  • Comments from President & CEO, Mike Bowman
  • Tourism spend numbers from 2019 -
    • $1.63 billion (8.3% growth since 2016), and 20,585 jobs (more than 4% of all jobs in Montco supported by tourism)
    • Montgomery County’s share of the state’s tourism sector is growing. Despite falling slightly in 2019, hotel sector KPIs are all up over the past decade. Occupancy, ADR, and RevPAR have all increased significantly.
    • Montco was set for another record-breaking year in 2020 pre-COVID. Through June, the county has lost an estimated $300 million in visitor spending relative to the same time last year.
  • Marketing:
    • The #MontCoStrong t-shirt fundraiser collected $25,000 in donations for the MontcoPA COVID-19 Response Fund.
    • In collaboration with the sales department, the communications team launched “Hotel Heroes” on social media to recognize hospitality employees who have gone above and beyond during the pandemic.
    • The Sixth Annual Freedom from Hunger Food Drive raised almost $5,000 in 2020, the equivalent of more than 20,000 pounds of food.  
    • Montco’s 50 historic and top-ranked golf courses reported record numbers. MontcoGolf.com saw more than 18,000 pageviews, with more than 1,200 GolfNow tee-time booking requests.  
    • The marketing team debuted Bike Montco, digital tours throughout the county with a video featuring Commissioner Ken Lawrence.  
    • Drive-In Movies made a comeback at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks (and later, King of Prussia Mall).  
    • The VFTCB partnered with the County and Commerce Department on Make It Main Street, a robust and targeted marketing campaign that puts the spotlight on small, local businesses impacted by COVID-19.
    • The organization joined industry colleagues and hospitality partners in standing against hate and discrimination.
    • The nonprofit’s press coverage reach increased 35% to 244 million, a 320% potential increase in exposure (top headlines included).
    • A partnership with TripAdvisor provided more than 7 million impressions for the #MakeItMontco Hotel Package throughout the summer.
    • The website, valleyforge.org, welcome more than 622,000 visits, and added LiveChat.
    • The VFTCB’s social media accounts included more than 5.5 million post impressions, 1 million video views, and 200,000 engagements (from more than 160,000 followers).
  • Sales:
    • In 2019, more than 2 million hotel room nights were sold for $250 million in revenue. New hotels (six in construction/planning) increased 4% to more than 9,000 rooms. Montco’s market share of rooms sold was more than 40%.
    • This year, about 120 events canceled, representing 46,000 total room nights lost, and more than $4.5 million in economic impact.
    • With the help of the Marketing Department, the Sales Team developed Montco Wellness for Events to help meeting planners feel safe hosting events here.
    • Coming soon: Montco360 Virtual Tours.
    • Revolutionary Events generated more than 24,200 room nights.
    • With two new hotels opening in 2020 and seven renovating, Montco will have 81 hotels and more than 9,400 rooms by the end of the year.
    • Montco Weddings had a huge impact in 2019 with more than 4,200 generating $168.7 million, and an average spend of almost $40,000. In 2020, the staff focused on promoting new wedding trends, such as smaller ceremonies and receptions, on social media. A 35% surge in wedding spend is expected nationally in 2021.
    • Valley Forge Sports generated a record 64,000 room nights in 2019. Despite the disruption this year, sports was still able to host more than 60% (40+) of scheduled events with 35,000 room nights, and 10 new events.
  • Membership
    • The VFTCB offered discounted membership rates, and a free co-op recovery package.
    • New educational orientation formats were virtually introduced with guest speakers (Montco in the Know).
    • Renovations continue at the Valley Forge National Historical Park Visitor Center, and are expected to be completed in 2021.

The Valley Forge Tourism & Convention Board (VFTCB) is a nonprofit, membership-based sales and marketing organization that actively promotes Valley Forge and Montgomery County, PA as a convention site and leisure visitor destination by encouraging patronage of its 500+ member hotels, restaurants, attractions, and services. The award-winning website links visitors, meeting planners, tour operators, and residents to a diverse portfolio of brands focused on reasons to visit the region.