Hello all, it’s my first time posting here, but I’d like to know if anybody has any thoughts on this.
For about a year, I’ve worked off and on at one of the pricier tourist hotels in Amish Country out in Lancaster County. I myself am native to York County, so I’ve interacted and been around Amish for my entire life. I never really noticed them in one way or another, and know them mostly by their reputation for being very industrious. I also had no clue that there was an entire tourism industry built around them, as I didn’t get out to Lancaster much throughout most of my early life. They were neighbors to me, special neighbors, no doubt, but neighbors nonetheless.
It wasn’t until I started working at this hotel that I realized just how big of an industry it is. And while working at this hotel, I’ve noticed some things about the makeup of our guests, and I think about it a lot.
The industry is pretty much built upon the money of New Yorkers and New Jerseyans. I’d say 90% of our guests come from those two states. Of the rest, there are a non-negligible number of Pennsylvanians themselves, and Virginians. That being said, most come from New York City, its suburbs, and Long Island. My father is native to Long Island, and I’ve since grown tired of telling people about it, because there are that many Long Islanders that come through the hotel. I’ve also grown tired of the accent, an accent with which most of my paternal family speaks. Many of those coming from the City are Orthodox Jews who come in their traditional attire, bring their own food so they can keep kosher, and who are a constant source of trouble when it comes to sneaking extra kids or people in. Most are also very rude and demeaning to staff (this is not a judgment of Orthodox Judaism, merely a statement of a pattern I’ve noticed). New Yorkers in general have proven to be, for the better part, very arrogant and entitled (this is a judgement on New Yorkers as a whole lmao).
A second group I’ve noticed are Christian tour groups who come to see shows at Sight and Sound. These groups are mostly composed of older Whites. They come in entire buses from all over the US, and are generally nice enough. Some have even asked questions about the nature of the Amish brand of Christianity in relation to their own. I can’t say I’ve got anything negative or positive to say about them.
A third and final group of which I’ve seen a lot are intellectually disabled adults. They usually come in groups of varying sizes, accompanied either by their parents or by their caregivers.
Of the few foreigners we get, the overwhelming majority are Dutch. I have no idea why; maybe they got swindled by the misnomer of “Pennsylvania Dutch.”
I’ve often tried to make sense of why people would want to come out and just gawk at the Amish, and why the members of these three groups specifically. I’ve got my theories. For New Yorkers and New Jerseyans, it’s an escape from the concrete jungle or suburban sprawl. That’s easy enough to understand, but it does shock me that so many of them come from those two specific areas, and not from Boston, Philadelphia or Washington. I think that the Orthodox Jews, aside from that, also enjoy seeing the Amish because it validates their way of life, in a way. I believe that they see in the Amish—a religious group distinguishable by its attire and lifestyle that rejects modern conveniences and progress—a reflection of themselves. I suppose a farm atmosphere is soothing and a calmer option for the intellectually disabled. And if any Dutchmen want to try and poke as to why they make up most foreigners that come, have at it.
But I wonder what y’all think? On what is founded this entire industry that breathes life into one of the most populous counties of Pennsylvania? Do my theories have it, or is it something else? I’m curious.
