WILKES-BARRE TOWNSHIP, Pa. Thousands of people are in Luzerne County this weekend for a religious convention and people with the county's visitors bureau say the event will have a multi-million dollar impact on the local economy.
Attendees at the convention at Mohegan Sun Arena are heading out to local hotels and restaurants. They say the hospitality in Luzerne County is what keeps bringing them back every year.
A sea of people packed inside Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre Township for the Love Never Fails 2019 convention of Jehovah's Witnesses.
"This particular convention is one that is occurring globally, and here in Wilkes-Barre just this weekend, over the course of three days, the Mohegan Sun Arena is playing host to about 4,700 anticipated attendees," said spokesperson Eric Forsyth.
Organizers say this is the 12th year for the convention in Luzerne County.
"We always like going where we feel welcome and someplace that's convenient for our attendees and Wilkes-Barre has done a fine job with that," Forsyth said.
"It's a beautiful area, not only physically, but the mentality of people here are very welcoming. It's been, like I said, I keep coming back year after year," said Corban Canter.
Folks at the Luzerne County Convention and Visitors bureau tell Newswatch 16 conventions like that bring a lot of money into the local economy.
Having something like the Jehovah's Witness convention in town will have an economic impact of over $3 million just from several days," said Donna Keyes.
Keyes says it's her job to promote Luzerne County to big events looking for a location. She says hosting events like this is a success for the county.
"Economic impact of having all these visitors coming in and staying in our local hotels and going to our local restaurants and everything from gas stations to events, it's a great financial win for everybody in the area when we have these conventions and large groups that come into town."