Community and Economic Impact of the Pennsylvania Wilds

Abstract

The Pennsylvania Wilds is a place-based brand and destination region in north central Pennsylvania covering 13 entirely rural counties. It is entering its third decade since its inception as an official tourism region and conservation landscape. A comprehensive mixed-methods research study conducted in 2022 indicates that this region is an effective place-based tourism brand. Stakeholder groups of visitors, businesses, and residents recognize the PA Wilds brand attributes of environmental stewardship and economic development. Resident and business stakeholders indicated pride in belonging to the region. These overall positive impacts of the brand indicate that brand management in the PA Wilds is well executed. The PA Wilds Center is the de facto brand manager of the region, as established through an intergovernmental cooperative agreement. The study team’s analysis concluded that the PA Wilds Center has multidimensionally satisfied and exceeded 15 established industry best practices for place-based tourism branding and development. Over the 10 years analyzed in this study (2011-2021), the region experienced a population decline. Increased regional economic contributions from the tourism industry paralleled this decline. In short, the population decreased in this period while the positive impacts of tourism increased. With the policy actions delineated in this report, the rural residents of this region can enjoy further positive economic and community dividends from the state's initial investment in this regional strategy.