Lisa Rager's Testimony on COVID-19's Devastating Impact on Pennsylvania Tourism – June 3, 2020
Chairman Millard, Chairman Longietti, and members of the committee:
Good morning, and thank you for this opportunity to join you virtually today. I am speaking on behalf of Pennsylvania's destination marketing organizations (DMOs).
My name is Lisa Rager, and I have served as Executive Director of Visit Johnstown in Cambria County for 30 years.
Throughout my tenure, I have witnessed firsthand the challenges facing Pennsylvania's tourism industry and DMO community—from economic recessions and 9/11 to the reduction and eventual elimination of state grants for our organizations, and the near-elimination of funding for the Pennsylvania Tourism Office. Positively, hotel tax revenue replaced lost grants for local DMOs, and Act 109 closed the online travel company loophole, boosting statewide tourism marketing. We were gaining momentum—until COVID-19 struck.
On March 16, during a staff meeting with my five Visit Johnstown team members (two hired just two weeks prior), I instructed everyone to complete their work and prepare for remote operations the next day.
Today, my entire team has been furloughed since April 16, leaving me to manage the organization alone. We canceled two major events we produce, including a large motorcycle rally scheduled for late June that draws tens of thousands and generates $20 million for our region's economy. Our largest downtown hotel (159 rooms) remains closed until July. Signature summer events—Jehovah’s Witnesses Convention, National AAABA Baseball Tournament, and Flood City Music Festival—were also canceled. We suspended all paid advertising and marketing indefinitely and did not publish our annual visitors' guide.
This story echoes across Pennsylvania's DMOs, from small to large, spanning Pittsburgh to Philadelphia, Erie to Lancaster, and the Endless Mountains to the Laurel Highlands. Business closures, travel bans, and stay-at-home orders triggered a domino effect: travelers vanished, lodging occupancy plummeted, and DMO funding from hotel taxes dwindled instantly. In April alone, my organization's lodging tax revenue dropped $65,000 compared to 2019.
Most distressing, when our tourism businesses, attractions, and partners need us most, we are fighting to stay afloat. When we should be communicating with visitors and residents, basic operations consume our resources.
As 51 nonprofit organizations statewide, we amplify our communities to the world. We represent thousands of businesses and tens of thousands of tourism jobs. We invite visitors to come, explore, stay, play, eat, celebrate, and relax—investing millions to drive billions in visitor spending. In Cambria County, tourism generates over $316 million annually, supporting more than 2,000 direct jobs—vital for Johnstown, long challenged by floods and industrial decline. Pre-March, we had strong momentum with new businesses and growing outdoor recreation. Then everything halted.
As businesses reopen, DMOs must lead recovery. How will restaurants and shops thrive on locals alone? How will museums attract visitors? How will hotels fill rooms? How will downtowns draw foot traffic? Who will inform travelers it's safe, what's open, and why choose us? DMOs should.
Yet currently, we're trailing, not leading. National estimates suggest hotel occupancy won't recover to pre-COVID levels until Q1 2023. DMOs follow hotels, delaying economic recovery. We yearn to drive solutions—promoting, acting, and hustling to lure conferences, tournaments, businesses, and residents. But uncertainty persists.
We lack timelines for large events and gatherings. Cambria County lost its entire summer, including our county fair. Nearly all tourism drivers—and DMO revenue sources—are gone statewide. Full recovery demands events and visitors.
With 2020 largely lost, 2021 remains unclear. Without prompt guidance on mass gatherings, impacts could extend, repeating summer 2020's devastation. For our motorcycle rally, we need end-of-summer clarity for 2021 planning. Other organizers face the same. Prolonged uncertainty topples more dominos.
We're stuck. In crises, seek helpers—DMOs are those helpers, but we need support, clarity, and guidance for high-impact tourism segments to turbocharge local economies. Tourism is the engine; DMOs are the conductors. Lift the fog so we can fuel community recovery.
