Hotel, motel, and B&B occupancy and the daily room rate are each up 2.5 percent through November, and total lodging revenue is up 5 percent. Two years ago, those numbers were in the red by double digits, Lepping said.
It's too early for this year's bottom line, but Lepping said he expects at least a 3 to 4 percent increase in the $814 million that visitors spent last year, not including $111 million in local, state, and federal taxes.
One of the most popular attractions, Sesame Place, "is having an extremely good year, and they added 'A Very Furry Christmas,' which is doing even better than they had hoped," Lepping said. "They're getting 5,000 to 6,000 on a weekend day."
The theme park next to Oxford Valley Mall extended its season into the last two months of the year, stringing millions of lights and displaying more than 300 Christmas trees. Four shows and the daily Neighborhood Street Party Parade have holiday themes, including Christmas carols.
A "surprising" benefit is that many visitors are staying overnight at neighboring hotels, as they do during the summer, Lepping said.
"I thought it would be 100 percent local families, within a 1½-hour drive," he said. "That hasn't been the case. They stay around for meals and buy gas."
New Hope, another of the county's top attractions, suffered from the closing of the Bucks County Playhouse. The picturesque borough on the Delaware has tried to lure shoppers and diners with summer fireworks displays and holiday light shows.
Through New Year's Eve, 30,000 lights will illuminate the Christmas tree outside the Logan Inn at 5, 7, and 9 p.m. in 10-minute shows set to music.
The borough also gained the Children's Museum, which opened last month.
