Pocono News Section

College Students Boost Local Economy

College Students Boost Local Economy - Thursday, April 23, 2009 at 11:34AM EST

Reported by: Kyla Campbell
Thursday, Apr 23, 2009 @ 11:34am EST
LACKAWANNA COUNTY -- The numbers are in. Lackawanna County makes close to $500,000 each week, thanks to college students. That's according to a recent study done by the Northeastern Pennsylvania Colleges and Universities Information Task Force.

"We think that's an oppurtinity for merchants to provide discounts to students and engage students and bring them into the community, making it more of a college town," said Peter Kilcullen, the Marketing and Communications Director at Marywood University.

"I think if they do a student discount, they'd get more students down there," said Katie Rossi, a junior at the University of Scranton who says she doesn't shop downtown Scranton very often. "Your average college student doesn't have a lot of money.

There are more than 12,000 students between seven colleges and universities in Lackawanna County. The survey shows 45% spend $50 or more each week on food off-campus. A quarter of them spend between $50 and $100 each week off-campus. And 25% of them spend the same amount on entertainment in particular each week.

"We're looking to go to a place we can tell stories about, get to know the people that work there," said Joe Quinn, a junior at the University of Scranton who frequents downtown businesses.

He says the results of this study should show merchants that college students can make a difference in their business during this tough economy.

"There's definitely a huge potential for the student population to be looked at as a real consumer base," added Quinn, "And that potential hasn't been realized until this point."