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A Food Lover's Guide to Downtown Erie Restaurants

Local breweries, cafés, bakeries, and restaurants serve everything from elevated comfort food to creative new flavors, making downtown a must-visit destination for food lovers.

An aerial photo shows the Erie city skyline at twilight, with the Bicentennial Tower at the center.

Tourism Insights and Impact

Tourism is a key segment of Erie County’s economy, generating more than $1 Billion in visitor spending annually.

When visitors travel to Erie County, residents benefit, too. Travelers spend money in Erie for family trips, conventions, business travel, and tournaments. It’s not just restaurants and hotels that benefit: the businesses that directly cater to travelers purchase goods and services from suppliers, who indirectly benefit from the tourism economy. That spending supports local businesses and jobs, and keeps Erie growing. As Erie grows, and new businesses open, quality of life improves. Tourism benefits us all.

Since 2010, direct visitor spending has increased more than 38%. During the same time period, more than 700 tourism-related jobs have been created.

At the heart of that industry is VisitErie, the official destination marketing organization for Erie County, Pennsylvania. 

Monthly Erie County Tourism Data

Data sources: STR, AirDNA, Zartico
Page Updated: October 12, 2026

  • Hotel Occupancy

    Monthly

    August 2026
    73%
    August 2025
    75.8%
    Change
    -2.80 percentage points from prior year

    Year to date

    2026 year to date
    56.5%
    2025 year to date
    57.1%
    Change
    -0.60 percentage points from prior year

  • Hotel Demand

    Monthly

    August 2026
    101,831
    August 2025
    105,773
    Change
    -3.7% from prior year

    Year to date

    2026 year to date
    616,584
    2025 year to date
    623,258
    Change
    -1.1% from prior year

  • Hotel ADR

    Monthly

    August 2026
    $157.37
    August 2025
    $154.76
    Change
    +1.7% from prior year

    Year to date

    2026 year to date
    $132.09
    2025 year to date
    $130.59
    Change
    +1.1% from prior year

  • Short Term Rental Occupancy

    Monthly

    August 2026
    72.48%
    August 2025
    71.82%
    Change
    +0.66 percentage points from prior year

    Year to date

    2026 year to date
    60.35%
    2025 year to date
    57%
    Change
    +3.35 percentage points from prior year

  • Short Term Rental Booked Listing Nights (Demand)

    Monthly

    August 2026
    582
    August 2025
    590
    Change
    -1.4% from prior year

    Year to date

    2026 year to date
    67,525
    2025 year to date
    65,674
    Change
    +2.8% from prior year

  • Short Term Rental ADR

    Monthly

    August 2026
    $200.56
    August 2025
    $201.30
    Change
    -0.4% from prior year

    Year to date

    2026 year to date
    $176.27
    2025 year to date
    $172.00
    Change
    +2.5% from prior year

Top Visitor Markets by DMA

Source: Zartico

  1. Pittsburgh, PA

    -2 percentage points

    August 2026
    27%
    August 2025
    29%

  2. Buffalo, NY

    +6 percentage points

    August 2026
    14%
    August 2025
    8%

  3. Cleveland-Akron, OH

    +1 percentage point

    August 2026
    9%
    August 2025
    8%

  4. Youngstown, OH

    +1 percentage point

    August 2026
    4%
    August 2025
    3%

  5. Johnstown-Altoona, PA

    +1 percentage point

    August 2026
    4%
    August 2025
    3%