Valley Forge National Park and Longwood Gardens are among the attractions that helped make the 2016 tourist season the best one yet for the Philadelphia region, writes Linda Loyd for Philly.com.

Last year saw a record breaking 42 million visitors, continuing seven years of growth in tourism across the region. Tourists also spent $6.8 billion in the region in 2016, topping the previous year by around $100 million.

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A key attraction was Valley Forge National Historical Park with 2.4 million visitors. Last year also marked the National Park Service’s centennial and Valley Forge’s 40th year as a national park which generated a surge of interest.

“2016 was the most visited year for all the parks combined,” said Jonathan Parker, acting park superintendent at Valley Forge.

Kennett Square’s Longwood Gardens was also a popular attraction with 1.35 million visitors in 2016.

“We have heavy repeat visitors,” said Lauren Hansen-Flaschen, Visit Philadelphia’s director of research and policy. “People come and they experience something and want to come back again and again.”

Read more about the upsurge in tourism at Philly.com by clicking here.

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