Music Festivals should help make summer tourism shine in Delaware
Delaware’s tourism industry is anticipating another year of steady improvement as the 2015 summer travel season gets under way, thanks in part to a lineup of music festivals with strong regional appeal, a brightening consumer mindset, and an increasing awareness of the state as a vibrant destination.
The number of out-of-state travelers who come to Delaware each year received an enormous boost with the arrival of the Firefly Music Festival three years ago, and that momentum is about to accelerate thanks to the launch this summer of two new country music festivals – Big Barrel (June 26-28 in Dover) and Delaware Junction (Aug. 16-18 in Harrington) – along with a lineup of world-class musicians at the Delaware State Fair and at the Freeman Stage ay Bayside.
Organizers last week predicted attendance numbers to reach as high as 90,000 at Firefly and 35,000 at Big Barrel. Together, the events may generate $90 million to $100 million in economic impact, organizers said.
“Bottom line, this is a year when travelers have more reasons to come to Delaware, more money to spend while they are here, and more things to spend it on,” said Linda Parkowski, director of the Delaware Tourism Office. “With all the music festivals heading our way, the beaches are just one of many reasons that Delaware is becoming a great summer destination.”
Parkowski noted that Delaware’s tourism outlook for summer 2015 also stands to benefit from a strengthening U.S. economy, which continues to see broad-based improvement in the labor market, higher consumer confidence, a strong dollar and a recent rebound in consumer spending. Tourism contributed $2.9 billion to the gross domestic product of Delaware in 2013, up from $2.2 billion in 2012, according to research commissioned by the Delaware Tourism Office. In 2013, the state’s tourism industry:
Attracted 7.5 million visitors (up from 7.3 million in 2012);
Supported 39,400 employees (up from 38,810 in 2012);
Stood as the fourth largest private employer in the state (unchanged from 2012);
Generated $451 million in state and local government taxes/fees (up from $441 million in 2012).
In 2015, thousands of additional consumers became more aware of Delaware’s appeal as a destination thanks to a lineup of television commercials broadcast on cable channels across the East Coast, along with a print advertising campaign that included such top national magazines as Good Housekeeping, Oprah and Southern Living.
“We expect the ‘Endless Discoveries’ marketing campaign to make a real difference for Delaware’s tourism industry,” Parkowski said. “We’re already seeing a rise in the level of interest among travelers – some are quite honestly amazed to learn how much there is to do and see in Delaware.”
Delaware’s beach resorts also got a nationwide public relations boost earlier in 2015 when Rehoboth Beach made two prominent “Top 10” lists, including Family Vacation Critic’s list of the 10 best U.S. beaches for families in 2015 (7th place); and the USA Today Readers’ Choice poll for “Best Coastal Small Town” (4th place).
“These rankings tend to have a lot of impact on travelers, especially in an age when people are constantly connected to the Internet and to each other,” Parkowski said. “These days, when something creates a ‘buzz,’ it can be felt and heard around the world in a matter of hours. Just think about that Dover Police officer’s ‘Shake if Off’ dash-cam performance.”
At the Delaware beaches, which are traditionally a major source of summer tourism revenue, signs are already pointing to a solid season. Through the spring and into the summer, 31 restaurants are scheduled to open or unveil a major expansion at the beach resorts, many located in the popular culinary destination of Rehoboth Beach. One prime force behind that expansion – in both Northern and Southern Delaware – continues to be restaurants that focus on beer and spirits. In 2015, at least seven restaurants statewide are opening as brewpubs or beer-focused businesses, or expanding operations to include brewing.
“We launched the Beer, Wine and Spirits Trail in Delaware because we had a strong sense the growth would continue,” Parkowski said. “Since the trail opened in 2010, we’ve had to expand it three times. The latest wave is coming in part from distilleries, but the brewpub phenomenon shows no signs of slowing down.”
There are also two major hotels opening at the beaches this season – the 112-room Bethany Beach Ocean Suites and the 94-room Fairfield Inn and Suites in Rehoboth Beach. They arrive after a year that saw the opening of the Westin Wilmington on the Christina Riverfront and the 136-room Hampton Inn Wilmington/Christiana in New Castle County.
Other positive signs of the state’s increasing status as a destination and the health of the tourism industry include:
Delaware’s recent rise from 4th place to 3rd place in the League of American Bicyclists’ rankings of bike-friendly states.
Earlier this year, AAA Mid-Atlantic awarded three hotels and one restaurant in Delaware with its Four Diamond Award, the top quality rating that AAA bestows. The winners were the Boardwalk Plaza Hotel in Rehoboth Beach, the Hotel du Pont in Wilmington, Dover Downs Hotel and Casino in Dover, and the Hotel du Pont’s restaurant, The Green Room, which earned the award for the 30th consecutive year.
The convenient and popular mobile payment app Parkmobile – which lets travelers avoid the hassle of feeding meters manually – is available for the first time this summer in Bethany Beach and Lewes (it had already been in place in Rehoboth Beach and Dewey Beach).
This spring, Old Swedes Church in New Castle was formally recognized as part of the First State National Historical Park, expanding the attraction’s lineup of historic sites across the state.
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