Signs of Hope

As tourism recovery continues, New Castle County can look forward to many new additions

BY JENNIFER H. BOES

TOURISM IN NEW CASTLE COUNTY continues down the comeback trail, yet its recovery remains uneven.

While leisure travel has made a healthy return, business travel has not reached pre-COVID levels. This is particularly critical in our region since we rely on business travelers to fill hotel rooms during the week. Staff shortages, supply chain disruptions, and an overall increase in the cost of doing business also continue to hamper a full tourism resurgence.

But there are signs of progress on the business front, and a plethora of new tourism assets set the stage for an exciting next chapter for our industry.

Meetings and conventions are experiencing an uptick, and business travel is hopefully not far behind. This fiscal year, the Greater Wilmington Convention and Visitors Bureau saw a whopping 425 percent increase in bookings over the previous fiscal year.

Another bright spot is the significant number of fresh tourism offerings we have coming online now and into the future. With new hotel properties, restaurants (including Bardea Steak—one of America’s most anticipated, according to Vogue), significant art and historical exhibitions such as “Winterthur to the Whitehouse”, and reimagined attractions like the Delaware Museum of Nature and Science, northern Delaware has more to offer than ever before. There’s also the much-anticipated redevelopment of the east side of the Wilmington Riverfront.

And word is getting out about us. Over the past six months, Greater Wilmington and the Brandywine Valley have received a positive nod from multiple national media outlets. The May 2022 Philadelphia Magazine carried a nine-page feature on our region with an ad equivalency of nearly $215,000.

To help maximize all this attention, the Bureau released its first fulllength, full-print travel guide since the pandemic. We distributed it throughout our target markets and are pleased to report the issue is in high demand. VisitWilmingtonDE.com mirrors this, with website traffic up nearly 50 percent from the previous fiscal year.

The Bureau also re-introduced the Brandywine Treasure Trail Passport, our most popular campaign, in spring 2022. The Passport offers visits to 12 Brandywine Valley attractions at a steep discount. Strong sales also point to increased visitor interest in our region.

A new project this year is the “Welcome All” campaign, made possible by grant funding received from the State of Delaware as part of the Economic Development Administration’s (EDA) American Rescue Plan. The video component was completed this summer. In 2023, we will launch a major television, radio, and digital ad run to promote Greater Wilmington and the Brandywine Valley. Thanks to the grant, the Bureau will be able to create exposure for our region at a level and frequency that was not possible before. It could not come at a better time as our hotels and restaurants, in particular, are still struggling to recover.

These are exciting times for tourism. In August, we’ll host the PGA Tour’s 2022 BMW Championship, welcoming an estimated 130,000+ spectators to the Greater Wilmington area. And while uncertainty is not behind us, the industry, in many ways, is emerging stronger as a result of the pandemic. We are resilient, we are passionate about our industry, and we are partners in recovery. I can’t wait for the next chapter.

Jen Boes is the executive director of the Greater Wilmington Convention & Visitors Bureau.