{"id":259697,"date":"2026-08-05T14:44:25","date_gmt":"2026-08-05T14:44:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/259697\/"},"modified":"2026-08-05T14:44:25","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T14:44:25","slug":"research-firm-hired-to-plan-bethlehems-tourism-economy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/259697\/","title":{"rendered":"Research firm hired to plan Bethlehem’s tourism economy"},"content":{"rendered":"

As Bethlehem<\/a> prepares for the increase in tourism \u2013 and tourism dollars \u2013 that will come with its designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site,\u00a0Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites\u00a0has announced its undertaking a\u00a0major tourism planning project\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

HBMS\u00a0said\u00a0it\u00a0has selected a\u00a0world-renowned\u00a0research company to study scope and impact of improvements\u00a0to help create\u00a0a master plan<\/a> to\u00a0establish\u00a0a world class visitor experience<\/a> in Bethlehem.\u00a0\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

PlaceEconomics<\/a>\u00a0is a global firm in heritage tourism research with experience in destinations that have World Heritage Sites including Willemstad, Curacao, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, and Melaka, Malaysia.\u00a0<\/p>\n

According to HBMS, the researchers will examine how tourism-related improvements could increase revenue\u00a0and\u00a0help preserve Bethlehem\u2019s historic sites.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\u201cWe especially appreciated that the\u00a0PlaceEconomics\u00a0team includes many\u00a0University\u00a0of Pennsylvania graduates.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0an elite school for education in historic preservation and architecture through the Stuart Weitzman School of Design,\u201d said\u00a0LoriAnn\u00a0Wukitsch, president & CEO of HBMS.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

Larry Eighmy, the\u00a0chair of\u00a0strategic\u00a0planning for\u00a0HBMS,\u00a0said the\u00a0research will\u00a0help\u00a0determine\u00a0how to improve the visitor experience for travelers and increase tourism while balancing the community\u2019s needs.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to determine how big we can be and how good we can be,\u201d said Eighmy.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\u00a0HBMS selected the firm from among four applicants that specialize in community and economic impact studies.\u00a0\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

The research company will investigate how different historical sites can be better connected and more inviting for travelers.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\u201cCurrently, visitors who arrive in Bethlehem\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0have an integrated way to get oriented and travel efficiently between historic sites.\u00a0PlaceEconomics\u00a0will consider innovative ways to recognize visitor needs such as restrooms, concessions,\u00a0transportation\u00a0or other elements,\u201d\u00a0said Eighmy.\u00a0\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

While the research and eventual master plan will include Bethlehem\u2019s World Heritage Inscription site,\u00a0the study will\u00a0also\u00a0encompass all properties within the\u00a020 acres\u00a0that HBMS cares for.\u00a0\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a comprehensive planning project to create a visitor centered experience that celebrates not only the UNESCO inscription but also looks to connect all the other components that make Bethlehem a world class destination,\u201d said Eighmy.\u00a0\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

To involve the whole community, HBMS is creating a Master Planning Initiative Advisory Council.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\u201cThe master plan will coordinate all stakeholders around a shared, fundable, and implementable vision to create investment-grade infrastructure and programming that transforms Bethlehem from a well-kept secret into a global destination,\u201d\u00a0said Eighmy\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

The Advisory Council will include representatives from\u00a0a\u00a0variety of companies and organizations in the region including\u00a0Air Products<\/a>,\u00a0B Braun, PPL,\u00a0ArtsQuest<\/a>, the Bethlehem Parking Authority,\u00a0Discover Lehigh\u00a0Valley\u00a0and\u00a0the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As Bethlehem prepares for the increase in tourism \u2013 and tourism dollars \u2013 that will come with its…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":217506,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[33694,225,153,155,154,35769,110191,110095],"class_list":["post-259697","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bethlehem","tag-air-products","tag-artsquest","tag-bethlehem","tag-bethlehem-headlines","tag-bethlehem-news","tag-master-plan","tag-placeeconomics","tag-visitor-experience"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/259697","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=259697"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/259697\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/217506"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=259697"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=259697"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=259697"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}