Summer camp — a place evoking many a memory for former kids who were able to get there, a time away in the country, full of activities, making friends and learning new things and lessons for life.
The summer camp industry is big in the Poconos, especially Wayne County with almost 30 in operation, some dating back over a century. A new study shows they also have a huge, and growing, impact on the local economy.
The Pennsylvania Camp Association, together with the Wayne County Camp Alliance, representing summer camps across the Greater Pocono region, released the results of an extensive economic study recently. The study indicates the industry contributes $250.7 million per year in regional economic impacts.
The Greater Poconos, including Wayne, Pike, Monroe, and parts of several other counties in Pennsylvania, contain at least 68 summer camps. There are 29 in Wayne County, 12 in Pike County and 15 in Monroe County.
They create jobs and support numerous local businesses, from lodging places where parents stay when visiting their youngsters to local landscaping and construction companies that maintain the facilities year after year.
Annually, the camps pay an average of over $133,000 each in local property taxes.
The growing impact of Pocono summer camps
Shepstone Management Company, Inc., based in Wayne County, conducted the 2023 study with assistance from the Wayne County Planning Department. The company did a similar study in 2016, allowing a comparison that reveals the growing benefit of camps to the Pocono economy.
"The numbers grew significantly," said Tom Shepstone, principal of the company. "Total camp economic impact was up from $123 million in 2016 to $251 million in 2023."
This boy might not realize that his summer camp is among approximately 68 camps in the greater Pocono region which together contribute $250.7 million per year in regional economic impacts. In Wayne County alone, which leads the area in the number of camps, summer camps pay 2.2% of property tax bills. The average number of campers is 724 per camp; 23% host over 1,000.
Detailed surveys of Greater Pocono summer camps, their employees, parents, vendors, and camp alumni were conducted. More than 1,150 parties participated (57% of those surveyed), yielding crucial information about the industry, Shepstone said.
These facts and opinions were combined with government data on taxes paid, employment statistics and tax records to yield a full picture of just how much the industry does for the region.
“The longevity of summer camps is amazing,” Shepstone said, noting that the average camp surveyed has existed 69 years. “It’s typically hard to find businesses that have been around that long, but this is the average for all our summer camps, indicating enormous staying power from their investments in the communities where they’re located. Several camps have been around over a century.”
There is a lot of interaction between camps and local businesses. For instance, Greater Poconos summer camps plan to invest roughly $41 million per year upgrading their facilities in the region, the study shows. Typically, a camp spent about $2.5 million over the last five years on capital projects.
The study furthermore indicates that the typical camp spends about $4.2 million annually on employees, food, services, and supplies with $1.8 million of that being spent locally. An average of $359,000 is spent on local employees. Approximately 79% of employees rate their jobs as “excellent.”
Local vendors such as food suppliers, transportation services and restaurants surveyed indicated they typically served approximately 14 camps and did an average of $143,000 in summer-camp-related business.
At least one local firm makes summer camps an integral part of their business. AMSkier is the largest direct insurer of summer camps. They have camps in 50 states, including numerous local camps. AMSkier offers personal insurance and business insurance, as well.
Campers' parents make a significant impact. Around 56% of them stated that visiting the camp made them want to visit the area for other reasons. A substantial number visit during camp season.
With an average number of visitors per camp of 1,494, Greater Poconos region camps bring roughly 102,000 persons per year to the region, the study shows.
While visiting the area, these parents spent an average of $412 per day in the region on lodging, dining, and other services, generating a direct impact on the regional economy of $51,740,000 in tourism expenditures; and 17% of camper parents stated that visiting the camp made them want to consider investing in the area, Shepstone highlighted.
Mark "Z" Zides, chairperson of the Pennsylvania Camp Association and operations director at Camp Towanda in Wayne County, said “We get tremendous support from community leaders where we operate."
"It’s essential to our success and this study should help them communicate the contributions of the summer camp industry to others as well," Zides said.
Camper fees in the greater Pocono region ranged from $6,600 to $18,000 per person. The average season fee was $11,644. Fees largely depend on the season's length, and some camps offer multiple camping periods per season. Off-season use of facilities generates significant additional income for themselves and the area, ranging from $10,000 to $1 million per year, averaging $357,851 per camp.
Camps pay millions in taxes
The study provided specific tax data for the camps in Wayne County, but not for other parts of the Poconos. Shepstone affirmed that Wayne County's camps make the most impact, based on the sheer number of camps.Greater Pocono camps paid nearly $9.1 million in 2022 property taxes.
In Wayne County, 10 of the 27 municipalities have summer camps, totaling 8,308 acres. These camps together pay $3,156,385 in real estate property taxes at 2023 rates. School taxes totaled $2,316,301; county taxes, $617,023; and municipal taxes, $223,061.
The most was in Preston Township in the far north, where $948,373 in taxes were paid; the least was in Clinton Township, $40,044.
"Countywide, children's summer camps pay fully 2.2% of all real estate property taxes, an impressive statistic given the industry is generally confined to a relatively few communities and the average revenue to local municipalities is 13.8% of their income from property taxes," Shepstone said.
Buckingham and Manchester Townships in Wayne County's far north each host seven children's summer camps, the most of any municipality in Wayne. Next is Lebanon Township with four. In Pike County, Dingman Township leads the way with five camps, followed by Lackawaxen with four. Jackson Township in Monroe County leads with eight camps. Barrett Township comes in second with three camps.
Zides said that Wayne County camps alone experienced an estimated $80 million to $90 million loss from being shut down in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He said all the camps were able to reopen. "We all bounced back," he said. Parents were eager to send their children back to camp.
Camp Towanda is 101 years old and some in Wayne County are even older, Zides said. Approximately 20 of the camps in the Wayne County Camp Alliance exceed 70 years old, and each of them have third- or fourth-generation campers, he said.
Camp Towanda had its visiting day July 22, where there were 150 camp alumni who made it a reunion, mingling with others who went to camp there. "Their experience is basically for a lifetime, making lifetime connections and friendships," Zides said.
Many of their teenage campers, when they go to college, will have roommates and friends they know from camp, he said.
Across Wayne County, Zides estimated that summer camps host about 12,000 campers and bring in about 10,000 visitors.
Roger Dirlam, president of the Wayne County Fair, estimated that around 2,000 to 3,000 summer campers attend the August fair. They come on buses, with hundreds of kids from any one camp dressed in their distinctive T-shirts.
A survey of more than 40 traditional summer camp vendors shows that 98% are within the greater Pocono area or in New York State immediately adjacent to Wayne County. Sixty one percent of the vendors are within Wayne County. On average these vendors had 14.2 employees and did $143,000 of camp business annually.
More summer camp stats
Among the wealth of other statistics contained in the report:
ACREAGE: The average camp surveyed is approximately 385 acres; 168 acres is used for operations and the rest is open space.
SHOPPING LOCAL: The average camp spends $4.2 million on operations, about 23% regionally. Direct and indirect payments impact the local economy, totaling $250.7 million annually. In Wayne County, $141,400 is spent locally on food, 26% of their food expenditure.
JOBS: About 72% of camp employees are from the U.S., and 20% of those are from Pennsylvania. Greater Pocono area camps employ approximately 8,800 people, some 460 full time and an estimated 8,340 part time. About 12.3% employed live locally.
LIKE AREA: Some 56% of camper parents say they want to visit the area for other reasons. They spent an average of $412 a day in the area on lodging, dining, and other services.
GENEROUS: Camps support numerous nonprofit organizations such as the Red Cross, hospitals, and fire companies. Greater Pocono camps that responded give an average of $10,445 per camp.
LOVE IT ENOUGH TO… Approximately 36% of camp alumni wanted to invest in the local area and 31% would consider moving and acquiring a second home in the region. Summer camp alumni surveyed said that summer camp experience was a "defining moment in their lives" and 92% wanted to send they wanted to send their kids to camp.
The full 2023 study, including several dozen charts and tables, may be found at bit.ly/3Kpeoz4.
