Purpose
The City of Lancaster developed its first-ever Tourism Master Plan (TMP) to prepare an actionable roadmap for enhancing the quality of life benefits that the tourism economy brings to residents and business owners locally.
The plan thoughtfully recognizes and integrates tourism, as a major pillar of the local economy, into larger interdisciplinary citywide strategic planning, prioritization, and investment strategy.
The Tourism Master Plan is designed to be implemented over the next 10 years. Each recommendation is categorized into short-term (1-3 years), mid-term (4-7 years), and long-term (8-10 years) objectives to deliver a phased, iterative, strategic, and manageable approach to program development and maturation.
To help align diverse stakeholders around a shared collaborative vision and execution strategy, the city, and its consultants, Eddy Alexander, used a community-led, data-backed, and industry expert-supported process to develop this plan. This plan was designed to expedite progress and enhance community access to the resulting cultural and economic benefits it supports.
Vision
Lancaster City envisions a future where authentic, sustainable tourism enriches the historic community, empowers the local economy, and enhances quality of life for all residents while elevating the city’s reputation as the vibrant cultural and economic heart of Pennsylvania Dutch Country.
Funding
This first-ever Tourism Master Plan for the City of Lancaster, was made possible by two generous grants from the High Foundation ($150k) and the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development ($100k).
The year-long project was the first official citywide effort at this scale specifically designed to integrate visitor considerations and economic benefits into local planning efforts. It is thoughtfully aligned to the city’s existing comprehensive plan and builds upon academic research and proven destination development best practices. It is centered on local cultural, artistic, natural, and historic assets, as well as opportunities that uniquely exist in Lancaster City. It has been guided by experienced partners who specialize in helping communities maximize their economic and quality of life potential through tourism.
Objectives
Lancaster City, PA recognizes that it can leverage strategic tourism planning, thoughtful destination development, informed promotional investment, and effective management best practices to:
- Generate sustainable economic growth through the local tourism economy
- More authentically and consistently communicate the community’s uniquely welcoming, historic, and multi-faceted value proposition to visitors
- Position tourism as a catalyst for economic development, attracting future investment and growth opportunities to the local economy
- Strengthen the city’s position as the economic hub of Lancaster County and the broader Dutch Country Roads region
- Preserve and enhance the independent business ecosystem that makes Lancaster City distinctive
- Improve quality of life for residents with increased shopping, dining, and entertainment activity options
Methodology
The City of Lancaster Department of Neighborhood Engagement partnered with Eddy Alexander, an international award-winning tourism and economic development marketing and growth strategy consulting firm, to design and facilitate a community-led, data-backed analysis of the community’s current assets, aspirations, concerns, priorities, and objectives.
The community stakeholder engagement strategy used to develop the Lancaster City Tourism Master Plan involved an extensive, inclusive, and multiphase approach designed to ensure representation and input from a wide range of stakeholders.
This process included local, regional, and visitor surveys, focus groups, interviews, live polling events, public validation workshops, and minority group representation checks and supplements. These efforts ensured that the plan accounted for the views of all neighborhoods, cultures, age groups, and business types, as well as the needs and desires of existing and target visitors.
More than 3,500 stakeholders actively contributed to the planning process.
Action Plan
To realize the vision, Lancaster City has identified 143 detailed recommendations strategically mapped to the priorities outlined in the ‘Our Future Lancaster’ Comprehensive Plan. These recommendations align with seven specific goals that address the primary functions of place-based hospitality, tourism, and destination marketing and management responsibilities
Goal 1: Establish a City-Specific Destination Marketing Organization (DMO)
Designate a dedicated DMO to collaborate with state and regional counterparts in effectively promoting Lancaster City’s unique history, culture, arts, architecture, food, and people.
Goal 2: Implement Industry Best Practices
Leverage the DMO to quickly adopt industry standard operational best practices, accelerating the realization of cultural, economic, and quality of life benefits for Lancaster City.
Goal 3: Strengthen Branding, Marketing, and Promotion
Align and manage local branding, marketing, and promotional efforts to increase visitor awareness, consideration, and preference for travel to Lancaster City.
Goal 4: Foster Product Development
Identify opportunities for product development and collaborate with local stakeholders to create new offerings that support visitation growth goals.
Goal 5: Advocate for the Visitor Economy
Utilize the DMO as Lancaster City’s official destination advocacy arm. Collaborate with state, regional, and national tourism organizations to ensure consistent regional promotion and develop programs that enhance the local visitor economy.
Goal 6: Champion Destination Sustainability
Use the DMO to develop policies, procedures, funding models, and campaigns that protect local assets and attractions. Focus on mitigating environmental impacts of visitor trends, balancing community needs with economic benefits, and ensuring long-term environmental and financial sustainability.
Goal 7: Pursue Data-Driven Decision-making
Conduct ongoing research to inform decision-making, prioritize investments, allocate resources effectively, benchmark performance, and mature the destination marketing and management program over time.
Accountability
Over the next ten years, the impact and success of the City of Lancaster’s Tourism Master Plan implementation efforts should be routinely and systematically measured by
Economic Impact
- Direct Visitor Spending
- Indirect Visitor Spending
- Sales Tax Collections
- New Business Licenses
Citizen Satisfaction/Quality of Life
- Local Net Promoter Score
- Local Assets, Attraction, and Experience Growth
Reputation Lift
- Average Length of Stay
- Repeat Visitation
- Net Promoter Score
Detailed recommendations on measurement strategy and performance management are included in the marketing program outline provided.
