A road-ready Gov. Josh Shapiro took an outfield stage Monday at PNC Field and unveiled a new state tourism brand for Pennsylvania: “The Great American Getaway.” With an RV that will carry him to 50 stops in 14 counties over the next week parked on the warning track, Shapiro launched the brand aimed at selling the state’s myriad attractions, historic destinations, parks, restaurants and more to residents and prospective tourists.
It comes as the governor seeks a 60% increase in funding for tourism and business marketing in his proposed budget. “I wanted to be here today ..
. because I wanted this to be the place where we launch our new brand, where we rolled out our tourism launch for the commonwealth of Pennsylvania to see, because I understand there are some incredible destinations and some great experiences you can have right here in Northeastern Pennsylvania,” Shapiro told the crowd. “I wanted to be here because this region demonstrates the opportunity that we have when it comes to tourism and when it comes to economic development.
” Getaway is the operative word of the “Great American Getaway” brand, with Shapiro touting the state as an ideal excursion for the roughly 72 million people who live within four hours of its borders. While tourism currently contributes roughly $77 billion to Pennsylvania’s economy annually and supports nearly 500,000 jobs statewide, including about 5,000 in Lackawanna County, Shapiro said the state can and must do even better .
