Valley Forge Tourism & Convention Board has issued its annual report, highlighting both positives and negatives of the previous year marked by the pandemic and severe weather.

According to the report, visitor spending went down from $1.6 billion in 2019 to $973 million in 2020. This represents a 40 percent decline, including 18 percent in tourism-supported job losses. Booked room nights also fell from 2.1 million in 2019 to 1.3 million in 2020, while hotel room revenue dropped from $250 million to $125 million.

However, even with all these negatives, 2020 brought plenty of positives as well.

So while there was a decline in visitor spending, tourism still supported over 14,500 jobs.

VFTCB also had a big sports year, as sports represented 77 percent of group business, from volleyball and lacrosse to paintball and flag football. The top twelve events totaled 35,000 room nights for over $40 million in economic impact.

The first Crave Montco Month took place with more than 100 restaurants and Montco Makers participating, while over 40 arts and culture venues participated in the inaugural Arts Montco Week.

Many more recent events indicate a brighter future for local tourism.

“We will rise above this,” wrote Mike Bowman, VFTCB President and CEO. “We will move beyond this.”