The new Hilton Garden Inn in Middletown Township marks an expansion of Delaware County’s tourism industry, writes Denali Sagner for The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Stakeholders from across Delaware County recently toasted their achievement with champagne and mini-pastries at the hotel, located off Baltimore Pike at the former Franklin Mint site.
“We may be the only Hilton Garden Inn in the world that serves Wawa coffee and drinks it all the time,” observed hotel owner Patrick J. Burns.
It’s actually Delaware County’s 42nd hotel.
The county hosted 4.5 million visitors in 2024, according to Steve Byrne, executive director of Visit Delco.
Those visitors spent $860 million, generated $1.2 billion in economic impact, and sustained 13,000 jobs.
In 2025, the county is poised to sell more than one million hotel room nights for the first time.
Delaware County’s tourism is a mix of many things, Bryne said, being home to 12 colleges and universities, corporate employers like Wawa, and sports complexes like IceWorks and Subaru Park.
That means visitors and events.
In the coming months, Delaware County will be a destination for semiquincentennial celebrations, the FIFA World Cup, the PGA Championship at Aronimink, and the MLB All-Star Game.
Read more about Delaware County’s expanding tourism in The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Editor’s Note: This post was initially published on DELCO.Today in December 2025.
