{"id":191732,"date":"2026-05-14T00:19:21","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T00:19:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/191732\/"},"modified":"2026-05-14T00:19:21","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T00:19:21","slug":"sun-shines-for-nepa-destinations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/191732\/","title":{"rendered":"Sun shines for NEPA destinations"},"content":{"rendered":"

Whether it\u2019s heading to a concert or baseball game at Montage, or hiking the falls trail at Ricketts Glen State Park, tourists converge on Northeast Pennsylvania each summer to take in the many activities in the region.<\/p>\n

That means big business for resorts and other destinations in Lackawanna, Luzerne and nearby counties \u2014 and an enormous boost to the area\u2019s economy.<\/p>\n

But rising prices, especially in the price of fuel, could mean a bump in the road for some vacation trips.<\/p>\n

Tourism officials have mixed feelings on that.<\/p>\n

\"AA Scranton\/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders game.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have a theory on this,\u201d Alan Stout, executive director of Visit Luzerne County, said. \u201cI\u2019ve had this theory for a long time. People will not generally cancel their plans. If you plan to go to the Jersey shore (with your family), you know the shore is going to cost you a couple thousand bucks. Are you not going to go because gas is going to cost you 25 more bucks?\u201d<\/p>\n

Curt Camoni, executive director of the Lackawanna County Visitors Bureau, takes a somewhat more cautious view.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe economy, including current gas prices, is a large concern for anyone in the tourism and hospitality industry,\u201d Camoni said. \u201cWhen people have financial concerns, they tend to cut or reduce travel and entertainment expenses from their household budgets. This will keep some travelers from making the drive to Lackawanna County. For others, it will lead them to forgo flying to a family vacation destination and instead drive to Lackawanna County for an amazing family weekend.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe one advantage we have in Lackawanna County is that we are an affordable destination where families can create lifelong memories without breaking the bank.\u201d<\/p>\n

Affordability through promotions is another way for businesses to counteract inflation.<\/p>\n

An agent for Great Wolf Lodge, in Scotrun, Monroe County, commented that higher gas prices \u201cdefinitely would have an impact on people\u2019s decisions\u201d on where to travel to for vacation. Some visitors come from out of state.<\/p>\n

Kyrus S., who said he wasn\u2019t allowed to give out his last name, said, \u201cWe do offer a ton of promotions to help with all prices, so they find what prices suit them,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Families are drawn to Great Wolf mainly for the indoor water park, where the water is always 84 degrees year-round, there are shallow pools for kids, water slides, and games and activities.<\/p>\n

There are suites and dining for overnight stays at the resort, one of 22 Great Wolf Lodges in the country.<\/p>\n

Great Wolf is just one of many options for vacationers in Northeast Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n

Camoni said Lackawanna County is a four-season destination with something for everyone.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Office exhibit at The Everhart Museum is incredibly popular, as are all of the locations on The Office Self-Guided Tour of Scranton,\u201d he said. \u201cIn the spring and summer, PNC Field is home to the SWB RailRiders, Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Electric City sign in Downtown Scranton.<\/p>\n

PNC Field shares Montage Mountain with two other summer attractions \u2014 Montage Mountain Resorts\u2019 Waterpark and The Pavilion at Montage, a Live Nation concert venue.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Lackawanna Coal Mine Tour is very popular for visitors and locals alike, and we expect an incredible summer for Steamtown National Historic Site as it welcomes the Union Pacific Big Boy No. 4014 from June 15-30 for a special reunion with Steamtown\u2019s own Big Boy No. 4012. This rare event marks the only opportunity to see two Big Boy locomotives displayed side by side.\u201d<\/p>\n

Camoni said the county also appeals to lovers of food, art and the outdoors.<\/p>\n

\u201cLackawanna County also is a foodie\u2019s paradise, with diverse, authentic ethnic cuisine from around the world. You can pursue whatever outdoor adventure you prefer in our gorgeous parks, trails, and preserves. Our Mural Trail is just one aspect of our incredible Arts and Culture. Lackawanna County offers this and more at a cost people can afford.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stout said Luzerne County not only has nature trails and state parks, it also is the home of the Pittston Tomato Festival, the Edwardsville Pierogi Festival and the Plymouth Kielbasa Festival. Fans of blues music can take off to Nescopeck Township for the three-day Briggs Farm Blues Festival in July. Nearby hotels are booked for the event.<\/p>\n

\u201cRicketts Glen State Park is an incredibly popular attraction,\u201d Stout added. \u201cI think it is one of the best walking trails on the East Coast. The waterfalls are serene.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 13,193-acre state park lies in parts of Luzerne, Sullivan and Columbia counties and includes more than 20 named waterfalls, including the 94-foot Ganoga Falls, the highest.<\/p>\n

The park also offers activities such as hiking, camping, horseback riding, hunting, and swimming, fishing, canoeing and kayaking in Lake Jean. It\u2019s also a good spot for winter activities \u2014 cross-country skiing, ice fishing, and even ice climbing on the frozen waterfalls.<\/p>\n

Some 500,000 people visit the park each year.<\/p>\n

Stout said that tourism overall was up 11% in the county in 2025 over 2024, based on hotel tax revenue, which funds the tourism office.<\/p>\n

Lackawanna County set new records in hotel tax revenue in six out of the last eight years, with the COVID years being the exception, according to Camoni. He said the hotel tax revenue increased 4.46% in\u00a0fiscal year 2022-2023, 4.69% in fiscal year 2023-2024, 2.12% in 2024-2025.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur fiscal year runs through June, but we project we will be about the same as last year, with a possible small decrease,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"NayNay Aug Park Gorge and Treehouse in Scranton.<\/p>\n

As of the 2024 report on the economic impact of tourism from the Pennsylvania Tourism Office, part of the state Department of Community and Economic Development, the annual direct impact of tourism on Lackawanna County was $721 million, while the impact on Luzerne County was $1.085 billion.<\/p>\n

Camoni said the report doesn\u2019t break out the numbers by season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Whether it\u2019s heading to a concert or baseball game at Montage, or hiking the falls trail at Ricketts…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":191733,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[18056,18057,178,180,179],"class_list":["post-191732","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-scranton","tag-biz570","tag-biz570-news","tag-scranton","tag-scranton-headlines","tag-scranton-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191732","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=191732"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191732\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/191733"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=191732"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=191732"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=191732"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}