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Bucks County, Pa. Seeing Tourism Numbers Continuing To Rise

By Brad Segall

DOYLESTOWN, Pa. (CBS) -- Cheaper gasoline (below $3.00 a gallon in some suburban Pennsylvania locations) could provide another shot in the arm for tourism in Bucks County, which is already seeing solid numbers when it comes to visitors spending money.

The most recent figures, from 2013, show that tourism has continued to increase every year since the economy faltered a few years back.

Visitor spending in 2013 accounted for nearly $900 million in economic impact.

Tourism in Bucks County supports more than 11,000 jobs, according to officials.

Paul Bencivengo, vice president of the tourism promotion agency "Visit Bucks County," says hotel occupancy so far this year is up more than four percent from last year.

"Our hotel (owners) aren't just sitting," he tells KYW Newsradio.  "They are looking at their hotels and refreshing their carpets and their rooms, and realizing that they all need to step up their game and roll out the red carpet for the visitors."

Cheaper gasoline, he adds, is an indicator that people will jump in their cars and travel to Bucks County to see the museums, the countryside, Sesame Place, and other venues.  He says if you draw a circle three hundred miles around Bucks County, that's where people are coming from.

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