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WILKES-BARRE — As the country struggles to stop the spread of the COVID-19 virus, regional leaders are already working on a plan of economic recovery.
Ted Wampole, executive director of the Luzerne County Convention & Visitors Bureau, said the impact the virus will have on the county is expected to be devastating.
In 2018, the latest report available to agencies, showed that tourism was a $989 million industry in Luzerne County, with more than 7,000 jobs directly or indirectly benefiting,
“We don’t have 2019’s numbers yet,” Wampole said. “But we can expect that coronavirus will have a catastrophic effect on tourism everywhere.”
The most recent report — The Economic Impact of Travel in Pennsylvania in 2018 — clearly shows what tourism means to Luzerne County and every region.
Once the coronavirus pandemic subsides, Wampole said the question remaining will be, “How do we recover?”
“The first concern is for the health and safety of the people,” Wampole said. “After that, we then must concentrate on assessing the impact on our economy and formulating a plan to recover.”
Wampole said because of the virus, people are no longer traveling and many businesses have been forced to close.
“Everybody is hunkering down,” Wampole said. “All ‘nonessential’ businesses are being hit hard. This has hit the tourism industry right in the heart.”
Wampole said the public needs to support local businesses as much as possible during these trying times. He said once the crisis is over, the economic recovery will begin.
Wampole said he plans to schedule a conference call as soon as Friday with regional tourism and economic development leaders to assess where to go once the crisis is over.
“We have to begin to develop a recovery plan,” Wampole said. “This will take a while. We all need to work together in partnership. We have experienced people who have been through similar events like this. We need to lean on each other, compare ideas and strategies and hopefully we can work together to a common goal.”
The travel-related labor income share for the Upstate Pennsylvania region remained at 9.1% in 2018 and, as in prior years, was well above the region’s 8.0% employment share.
To view the entire report, go to: https://www.visitpa.com/sites/default/files/pdfs/2018-Economic-Impact-of-Travel-and-Tourism-in-Pennsylvania-min.pdf.
Reach Bill O’Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.