Town business association sees national shrine as tourist draw

Originally published August 24, 2010
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By Ike Wilson
News-Post Staff

Emmitsburg -- Allen Knott has worked in Emmitsburg for five years and served as the treasurer for the town's business association over the same period.
However, Knott had not visited one of the town's tourism icons -- the National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton -- until Thursday, when the Emmitsburg Business and Professional Association toured the facility.

He was impressed.

"I was in awe of the display and St. Elizabeth Seton's life from her time in Europe to when she came back to the United States," Knott said.

The 60-acre facility is more than a captivating memorial to a saint.

With 380 employees, the shrine boosts Emmitsburg 's economic development in several ways, the visitors said following the tour.

Religious tourism is an increasingly growing industry and the shrine offers an opportunity for pilgrims to walk in a saint's footsteps without having to travel to Europe or the Holy Land, said John Fieseler, the county's executive director for tourism.

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