Western Pennsylvania Conservancy

Improving a Region’s Economy through a
Landmark

Fallingwater is a destination site and tourism anchor in Pennsylvania. This year, Travel and Leisure magazine singled out the Frank Lloyd Wright masterwork as its defining destination for our state. Visitation at this world-famous building has grown to 145,000 visitors annually, making it one of the top 10 most visited house museums in America. Because of this, Fallingwater is an economic driver in the region and continues to be a major employer, with a staff of more than 125 people.

“Fallingwater continues to be one of the region’s signature attractions as it draws a record number of visitors from across the United States and abroad,” said Annie Urban, Executive Director of the Laurel Highlands Visitors Bureau. “The economy of the Laurel Highlands region is positively impacted by these visitors as many stay in our accommodations, dine in our restaurants and visit other attractions including Frank Lloyd Wright’s Kentuck Knob and the Duncan House. These cultural travelers are important to the region, because statistically they tend to stay longer in an area and spend more than any other travel audience segment.”

More than 73 percent of Fallingwater’s visitors travel at least four hours (one way) to visit the house
and include international travelers from Canada, France, Italy, Japan and Russia, just to name a few. These long-distance travels often translate into overnight stays for the region.

The Laurel Highlands Visitors Bureau estimates that Fallingwater has an annual economic impact of $30 million in the region in tourism alone, generating approximately 100,000 room night stays every year for the Laurel Highlands and the surrounding region. Factoring in the additional impact
of other Fallingwater activities including payroll, supplies and other contracts, the total impact of
Fallingwater on the region’s economy is even greater.