Industrial Effects: Hospitality And Tourism

Sept. 11 had a profound effect on the tourism industry, altering the nature of the family vacation.

"I think industrywide we saw a lot of people stay closer to home and take a look at things they haven't seen within a couple hours' drive of where they live," said Dennis Grumbine, chief executive

The trend has been reinforced by the continued western creep of the Philadelphia and New Jersey metropolitan area, which brings people who haven't experienced rural culture closer to Central Pennsylvania. People are exploring new areas that are within driving distance instead of flying distance. While initially the area experienced more visitors because of 9/11, it has leveled off, Grumbine said.

Joe Massaro, general manager of Hilton Harrisburg and chairman of the HersheyHarrisburg Regional Visitors Bureau, saw an immediate decrease in hotel business following 9/11. In the beginning of 2002, the Central Pennsylvania area's hotel business picked UP, which was not the case in larger metropolitan destinations, Massaro said.

"We certainly weren't back up at pre-9/11 levels, but we were encouraged that we rebounded as quickly as we did," Massaro said.

Hotel users discussed security at seminars following the attacks. The hotels paid attention to where they were potentially at risk and worked to minimize that risk by educating employees, Massaro said. The industry had to pay for increased security, education and seminars. Marketing costs increased because hotels were working harder to boost business, Massaro said.

The state of tourism five years after the terrorist attacks is strong, with people traveling in record numbers in every segment of the industry, Massaro said.

"It's a good time to be in the hotel business," Massaro said.