Philadelphia and the Countryside - Press Room

The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) announced today that it has received a Social Media in Travel & Tourism Award (SMITTY) from Travel + Leisure for its Visit Philly Twitter account, which currently has 45,000 followers. To win in the “Best Use Of A Social Media Platform” category, Philadelphia competed against hundreds of national and international destination marketing organizations and travel companies.

The SMITTYs—now in its second year—spotlight the travel industry’s most innovative and effective uses of social media that provide value to consumers in this new landscape. To celebrate the 28 winners, Travel + Leisure is hosting an

Inspired by Philly Beer Week, kicking off today, the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) polled the newly created Philly Friends opinion panel about the city’s beer scene. The findings are mouthwatering.

Question #1: What do you think makes Philly’s beer scene so impressive? (Select all that apply.)

• Beer-centric pubs & bars – 76%
• Quality breweries – 69%
• Beer gardens – 54%
• Philly Beer Week – 43%
• Bartenders who know their stuff – 37%
• Home-brewing scene – 19%
• Other – 7%

Question #2: What is your favorite place in Philadelphia to enjoy beer on a hot summer day?

The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) today announced a new hotel search engine for visitphilly.com: BookDirect. A product of JackRabbit Systems, the search engine:

• Gives consumers the opportunity to compare and shop for rates as always, but enables them to book accommodations on their preferred hotel’s website. That means they can secure the best available rate and build or use loyalty points.
• Makes it easier for visitors to find the hotel that best suits their needs thanks to a new map view and search results that are filtered by amenity, location, price and property.

“Experience tells us that

The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) released its 2013 annual report, which reveals that the region welcomed a record 38.8 million domestic visitors in 2012. Those visitors generate economic impact and taxes for the region and support residents’ jobs. Titled The Evolution of a Destination and Its Marketing, the report also emphasizes the major changes in Philadelphia and in marketing since GPTMC began.

“Philadelphia is a better, more complex destination appealing to more types of travelers and more trip types,” said Meryl Levitz, president and CEO of GPTMC. “Gone are the days of one-size-fits-all marketing. Today, we use

The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences (IADAS) awarded the With Art Philadelphia™ website, found at withart.visitphilly.com, a Webby Award. Dubbed the “Internet’s highest honor” by The New York Times, the IADAS-sponsored awards honor online excellence around the world. A collaboration of GPTMC, the City of Philadelphia and more than a dozen other civic and cultural partners, the With Art site nabbed a recognition in the Association category. GPTMC worked with Northern Liberties-based web firm BlueCadet to create the site—complete with vibrant photography, renowned artworks, an interactive map, art itineraries, event and exhibit listings and more. It is

Visitors can “pin” their way to an art-filled Philadelphia weekend by creating their ideal Philly itinerary using the social-networking site Pinterest. Part of the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC)’s With Art Philadelphia™ campaign, the “Pin Your Way With Art” contest will award one grand-prize winner the Philadelphia getaway they created and submitted, complete with art experiences, meals and an overnight hotel stay. Five additional winners will receive Philadelphia museum memberships. Submissions are being accepted through May 24, 2013.

Why Pinterest?:
GPTMC chose Pinterest as the platform for this contest because of its image-building and web traffic-driving capabilities. When

Beginning this spring, the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) is handing over the reins of its popular Instagram and Pinterest accounts to residents charged with showing off their favorite Philly locations and made-in-Philly items. The project calls on locals—influential photographers, prolific social media users and experts in their fields—to promote new sides of Philadelphia to Visit Philly’s more than 340,000 fans and followers:

1. Visit Philly Guest Instagram Program

After a successful Guest Instagram pilot program with local photographer Dave Maialetti, GPTMC is expanding the program to spotlight 14 visitor-ready areas surrounding Center City that are part of the new

Beginning this morning, an 85-page, Philadelphia-branded feature will appear in US Airways magazine, tucked in the seatbacks of every plane and available to six million domestic and international flyers throughout the month of March. The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) worked with the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance, Pace Communications and nearly 70 area hotels, attractions, shops, events, universities, hospitals and major corporations to compile this comprehensive and inspired story about what Philadelphia means to visitors, residents and businesses.

Featuring a stunning cover photo of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway taken for GPTMC by local photographer Bob Krist, the March installment

The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) maintains a strong social media presence, and here are three new reasons the Visit Philly accounts continue to engage and activate its more than 321,000 fans and followers:

1. Philly’s All a-Twitter

Philadelphia landed in the number five spot among the 10 most popular U.S. cities on Twitter, ranked by the number of followers of cities’ official tourism Twitter accounts. The report, compiled by SkiftSocial, a company that measures social data of travel companies, found that during a two-week period, Portland and Philadelphia were the most responsive to people via Twitter. Travel Portland enlists