Not sure if you’re right about the Poconos — Poconos used to also be a major coal-mining region till all of the anthracite was mined out. That industry, along with steelworks in Bethlehem, went the way of the dodo in the 1980s. That’s more of why the region is depressed, not because of lack of vacation traffic.
A lot of people still go to the Poconos from NY to ski, hike, and fish on weekends, by the way.
