Summer 2015 has brought quite a bit of international activity to Central Pennsylvania. Beginning two weeks ago with the U.S. Women’s Open in Lancaster, a number of competitors of which were from overseas; this week brings 10,000 delegates from the World Mennonite Conference, followed by the Mecum Auto Auction next week and the Little League World Series in August to Williamsport, PA. All these events will bring international attention to the region.

An airport’s role is to provide the region it serves with access to the global marketplace. Every day American, Delta, United and Air Canada provide about 50 flights between HIA and global hubs with connections to practically any destination on the globe. 2014 was a record travel year for International travelers at HIA with more than 80,000 served. Between January and March 2015, nearly 120 people a day have arrived and departed to and from international destination. The most popular have been Toronto, Cancun, Montreal, Shanghai and St. Thomas.

Since July 15^th, planning committee members and delegates attending the World Mennonite Conference have arrived at HIA and caught shuttles to area hotels and colleges. So far, arrivals have been from nearly 25 different countries including Paraguay, Mozambique, Tanzania, Cuba, India, South Korea and Nicaragua.

As local economies expand globally, International travelers are a key to maintaining current airline service and play an important role in ongoing efforts to bring new flights to our region. Also, international visitors stay longer and spend more money while visiting than do visitors from other parts of the United States thus creating a significant economic impact.

As you fly in or out of HIA this summer, please look around and welcome those from different parts of the globe. We want their stay in our region to be memorable, exciting and as easy as possible. Thank you to our regions CVB’s, meeting planners, conference venues, hotels and attractions for working hard to put our region on the global map. And thank you to our airline partners for providing access to global hubs with connections to every continent on the earth. Combined these efforts are what put the International in Harrisburg International Airport!