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Pennsylvania’s tourism activity generated an estimated $87.2 billion in total economic impact and supported 521,021 jobs in 2025, according to Tourism Economics’ report published in September 2026. The $87.2 billion is modeled business-sales impact—not visitor spending: visitors spent $51.6 billion, with the larger figure also counting supply-chain and household-spending effects.
What the 2025 tourism figures measure
Tourism Economics estimated that 206.2 million visitors traveled to Pennsylvania in 2025, up 2.3% from 2024. Their $51.6 billion in spending was up 3.5%. The report estimates $87.2 billion in total economic impact, $3.3 billion more than in 2024. Pennsylvania DCED’s September 30, 2026 announcement summarizes the headline results; the Tourism Economics report provides the detailed estimates and methodology.
| Measure | 2025 estimate | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Visitors | 206.2 million | People traveling to Pennsylvania; up 2.3% year over year. |
| Visitor spending | $51.6 billion | Spending by visitors; up 3.5% year over year. |
| Total economic impact | $87.2 billion | Direct, indirect and induced business-sales impact; up $3.3 billion from 2024. |
| Tourism-demand GDP | $41.7 billion | Estimated contribution to state GDP, or 3.9% of Pennsylvania’s economy. |
| Total jobs supported | 521,021 | Direct, indirect and induced jobs, equivalent to about 6.3% of state employment. |
| State and local taxes supported | $5.205 billion | Tax revenue attributed to tourism activity in the report. |
The measures answer different questions. Visitor spending is what travelers spent. Total economic impact adds business-to-business purchases in supply chains and local spending from income earned by workers. GDP is different again: it measures value added and excludes the value of imported goods and services, so it is lower than total sales impact.
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Tourism Economics separates the estimated sales impact into three layers. The report uses visitor spending and other tourism data in a demand-side analysis, then applies an industry-specific local input-output model built within IMPLAN to estimate how that spending circulates through the economy.
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| Impact layer | 2025 estimate | How to interpret it |
|---|---|---|
| Direct | $54.5 billion | Sales associated directly with visitor purchases and businesses serving visitors. |
| Indirect | $15.5 billion | Supply-chain purchases by businesses that serve visitors. |
| Induced | $17.2 billion | Local spending by workers whose income is supported by visitor activity. |
| Total | $87.2 billion | The combined modeled business-sales impact. |
Because the total includes repeated rounds of economic activity, it should not be described as $87.2 billion spent by tourists or as tourism’s contribution to GDP. The report separately estimates $27.5 billion in total personal income and $10.9 billion in total government tax revenues.
How many jobs did tourism support?
The 521,021 figure includes jobs supported both directly and through broader economic effects; it does not mean that all of those people were direct tourism-industry employees. Tourism Economics estimates 344,571 direct jobs, 72,912 indirect jobs and 103,537 induced jobs.
| Job impact | 2025 estimate |
|---|---|
| Direct | 344,571 |
| Indirect | 72,912 |
| Induced | 103,537 |
| Total supported | 521,021 |
By sector, food and beverage accounted for 134,951 total supported jobs, recreation and entertainment for 62,466, and lodging for 57,874. These sector totals are supported-job estimates, not counts of direct employees alone.
What visitors spent money on
Transportation was the largest spending category in the report’s breakdown, followed by food and beverage and recreation. Transportation includes ground and air travel; lodging includes all accommodation types.
| Category | Visitor spending | Share | Year-over-year change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Transportation | $15.0 billion | 29% | Up 0.8% |
| Food and beverage | $11.7 billion | 23% | Up 5.5% |
| Recreation | $10.2 billion | 20% | Up 5.7% |
| Retail | $7.9 billion | 15% | Up 4.2% |
| Lodging | $6.8 billion | 13% | Up 2.5% |
The report says overall spending growth reflected both more visitors and higher prices for tourism-related goods and services. Spending by international visitors fell 1.7% year over year.
Why overnight visitors mattered disproportionately
Overnight visitors accounted for a smaller share of trips but a larger share of visitor spending. In 2025, 71.7 million overnight visitors represented 34.8% of visitors and generated $31.1 billion, or 60.4% of visitor spending. Day visitors numbered 134.5 million and generated $20.5 billion.
What the tax estimate does—and does not—say
The report estimates $5.205 billion in state and local taxes supported by visitor activity. It compares that amount to about $984 per Pennsylvania household in replacement taxes. That is the report’s way of illustrating scale; it is not a tax bill, payment or guaranteed saving for each household.
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The statewide totals do not identify which counties or regions had the largest impacts. Visit PA’s annual economic impact reports provide state, regional and county-level findings, including visitor spending, employment, earnings, gross state product and tax revenue. Consult the report’s local tables before drawing geographic comparisons.
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