The City of Lancaster Bureau of Tourism & Promotions selected Eddy Alexander in the fall of 2023 to develop Lancaster City’s first-ever Tourism Master Plan. Based in Roanoke, Virginia, the international award-winning firm brought proven experience helping communities develop tourism, economic development, and destination strategies nationwide.
The project team implemented an advanced multi-channel, multilingual, multi-touchpoint community stakeholder engagement process to ensure the final plan included diverse perspectives. The outreach effort was branded as the ‘Welcome Lancaster Initiative’ and featured:
- A dedicated city project website
- Coverage in multiple local news outlets
- A multilingual direct mail campaign sent to every home and business within the city and surrounding neighborhoods
- Collaboration with faith-based leaders and local nonprofit networks.
- Social media posting and project amplification in partnership with over 20 organizations
- Fliers distributed at libraries, the welcome center, and neighborhood hubs
- Table tents distributed at local restaurants and markets
- Highlights in the annual mayor’s address
Recognizing Lancaster City’s distinction as one of the most diverse cities in America, language translation services were provided in-person, on fliers, via call-in translation services, and through auto-translation technology embedded in web and survey platforms.
Every local resident and business was invited to participate multiple times and in various ways over the course of a year-long engagement period. More than 3,500 local stakeholders ultimately participated in a community engagement effort that combined quantitative and qualitative methods as well as detailed segmentation to ensure statistical representation and nuanced understanding of community perspectives and priorities.
Continuous outreach and segmentation analysis ensured balanced representation across age, gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic background, business sectors, location, time as a resident, and cultural communities, creating a robust foundation for inclusive strategic planning.
When gaps were identified, the city collaborated with community leaders to activate supplemental outreach efforts, including adding special interview and focus group sessions.
This proactive stakeholder outreach ensured:
- Community-Centric Planning: Aligning the tourism strategy with the needs, aspirations, and priorities of residents and local businesses
- Balanced Representation: Addressing both resident and visitor perspectives for equitable development
- Focus on Inclusivity: Emphasizing multiculturalism and diversity
- Validation and Feedback: Leveraging open community workshops to confirm findings and refine strategic recommendations
The Lancaster City Tourism Master Planning process was broken into four phases
Phase 1 – Destination Assessment and Data Collection:
Researchers conducted extensive evaluations from November 2023 through November 2024, including:
- Analysis of the current state of travel (at the international, national, state, and regional levels)
- Six multi-day site visits to assess local tourism infrastructure first-hand
- Analysis of visitor geolocation data and census demographics
- Creation of a comprehensive tourism business database
- Peer community benchmarking
- Risk and gap analysis of current tourism offerings
Phase 2 – Community Engagement:
Given Lancaster City’s status as one of America’s most diverse cities per capita, and at the city’s specific direction, researchers prioritized inclusive outreach through:
Community Survey and Forums
- 2,946 community survey responses, provided a 95% confidence level with ±1.8% margin of error
- 1,355 responses specifically from in-city households (46% of total), delivered a 95% confidence level with ±3% margin of error for resident-specific survey insights
- Multilingual accessibility for 243 total languages (direct translations were provided for English, Spanish, Swahili, Arabic and technology-assisted translations were provided for 239 additional languages).
- WCAG and Section 508 compliance considerations and in-person support at the library and welcome center offered more inclusive accessibility
- Two public validation workshop sessions included 50+ community participants
- Two business owner polling and discussion workshops included 30+ local independent businesses owners
- 14 sector-specific focus groups spanning transportation, arts, retail, entertainment, and lodging
- Over 100 one-on-one interviews with community leaders, business owners, and public officials
Note: This engagement process was designed to ensure balanced representation across age, gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic background, business sector, and cultural community.
Phase 3 – Market Analysis:
The research team synthesized findings through:
- Comprehensive literature review of tourism trends and best practices
- Cross-tab analysis of existing city plans and initiatives
- The application of Eddy Alexander’s proprietary Destination Maturity Model (EADMM)
This analysis examined:
- Existing asset and attraction portfolio
- Visitor experience feedback
- Infrastructure needs and opportunities
- Destination SWOAT – Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Aspirations, and Threats
- The necessary balance between tourism growth and quality of life
The Eddy Alexander team employed qualitative and quantitative analysis techniques, utilizing their proprietary Destination Management Maturity Model (EADMM) to assess the current state of Lancaster City’s tourism economy, destination potential, as well as opportunities for further maturation and community benefit.
This framework helped identify opportunities to enhance Lancaster City’s ‘Our Future Lancaster’ Comprehensive Plan.
Phase 4 – Recommendations & Action Planning
The resulting recommendations address:
- Branding and positioning
- Business and workforce development needs
- Destination development and local market maturation opportunities
- Destination management and operations best practices
- Future research needs
- Government affairs and destination advocacy
- Marketing and promotion
- Product development opportunities
- Sustainability initiatives
- Sustainable funding strategies
- Continued community stakeholder engagement
This final tourism master plan was then developed to provide detailed recommendations, key considerations, programmatic strategies, and aspirational opportunities to propel the community forward.
Outcomes and Deliverables
The City of Lancaster Tourism Master Plan outlines:
- Key research findings
- An inventory of Local Tourism Economy Anchor Assets
- Recommended funding sources, management models, and governance strategies
- Detailed, actionable recommendations to improve Lancaster City’s tourism economy while preserving its unique character and ensuring equitable growth.
This methodical approach allowed the Tourism Master Plan to reflect both community aspirations and market realities while providing actionable recommendations for the City of Lancaster’s tourism development over the next decade.
