A number of state officials, including first lady Susan Corbett, is coming to Carbon County this March.

During the county commissioners' meeting on Thursday, the board welcomed Carl Wilgus, president and CEO of the Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau, who spoke about an event happening at the end of the month.He noted that representatives from the state Department of Community and Economic Development; as well as Corbett, will be touring seven counties, including Carbon, March 25 through 27. They will see locations in Wayne, Luzerne, Lackawanna, Pike, Monroe, Carbon and Schuylkill counties.Wilgus explained that the reason for the "On the Road" event is because DCED wants to get their agency on the ground in Northeast Pennsylvania and learn what the issues and concerns are for the area; as well as develop approaches that will help the communities.Wilgus noted that a free tourism lunch to kick off the event will take place at noon on March 25, at Skytop Lodge in Skytop. Additional forums, meetings and other events will be scheduled throughout the tour.The event will wrap up at 11:30 a.m., on March 27, at the Best Western Genetti Inn and Suites in Hazleton.For more information on the three-day event or to sign up for the kick off of wrap up events, visit

http://newpa.com/ontheroad/northeast.Wilgus also highlighted a report that DCED released in December about the economic impact of tourism in Pennsylvania.The Poconos region, which is made up of Carbon, Monroe, Wayne and Pike counties, is the fourth largest region based on economic impacts and utilizes tourism as a major source of employment; as well as other areas discussed in the report.