Philadelphia and the Countryside - Press Room

Philadelphians have long known that their city is easy to get around, chock full of farmers markets, kind to bikers and teeming with great take-out options, and now Real Simple magazine is making sure the world knows as well, ranking the city 12^th in its survey of “21 Top Time-Saving Cities” in the country. The article appears in the April issue of the publication on newsstands March 15, 2010.

Philadelphia rated particularly high in the “Green Time-Savers” category with author Adam Bluestein writing, “ Very walkable and notably uncongested, Philly is also the largest East Coast city to offer

In a time when people are questioning the purchase of everything from coffee to cars, Philadelphia and The Countryside® is worth the trip, according to 30 million visitors. On January 8, the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) released its Tourism Industry Profile 2010: Worth the Trip, an industry snapshot that examines the thousands of reasons why people keep coming to the Philadelphia region—in other words, why it’s “worth the trip,” even in a tough economy. The 15-page publication takes readers through 13 years of tourism in Greater Philadelphia, which started as a day-trip city and grew to the premier

Population:
There are 3.9 million people residing in the five-county region (7.75 million in the Philadelphia Designated Market Area), making Philadelphia the second largest city on the East Coast and the sixth largest in the U.S.

Location:
Philadelphia is a two-hour drive from New York City, two-and-a-half hours from Washington, DC and 45 minutes from Atlantic City, with convenient access to the Pennsylvania Turnpike, I-76, I-95 and the New Jersey Turnpike. 25% of the United States population lives within 350 miles of Center City Philadelphia.

The city is a 90-minute flight or a one-day drive from Toronto (880

Today the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) released its Tourism 2009 Report to the Region. The 36-page publication provides a comprehensive snapshot of the region’s leisure tourism industry and takes a look at opportunities and challenges the region faces as a result of the current economy. The annual report also includes visitor volume numbers for 2008 and addresses how tourism impacted the local and regional economy last year. Distribution of the report, themed “The Big Picture” and available for free on gophila.com/tourismreport, coincides with National Tourism and Travel Week, taking place May 9-17, 2009.

Here’s a look at

CAMPAIGN NAME: With Love, Philadelphia XOXO™

CAMPAIGN OVERVIEW: Launching May 2009, With Love, Philadelphia XOXO™ is part of GPTMC’s 2009 recessionary strategy to boost leisure visitation and overnight hotel stays in Philadelphia. It appeals to many different audiences through various letters addressed to travelers. Penned by the city itself, the letters let a bit of Philly “atty-tude” through while extending the invitation to visit.

FUNDING: In fall 2008, the mayor of Philadelphia and City Council approved a 1.2% increase in hotel tax on Philadelphia County hotel rooms to be shared among GPTMC, the Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau and the

The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) today revealed With Love, Philadelphia XOXO™, a new $1.4 million tourism marketing campaign developed in direct response to the current economic climate and designed to increase leisure visitation and hotel occupancy.

In total this summer, GPTMC will spend $2.5 million to woo leisure visitors here. GPTMC’s tourism marketing repertoire features With Love, Philadelphia XOXO™, which includes promotion of Historic Philadelphia; the Galileo, the Medici and the Age of Astronomy exhibition at The Franklin Institute Science Museum; Philly Overnight®; Philadelphia – Get Your History Straight and Your Nightlife Gay®; and efforts with the Canadian

The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) is proud to announce the renewal of three partnerships to support its groundbreaking gay and lesbian marketing campaign, Philadelphia – Get Your History Straight and Your Nightlife Gay®. Southwest Airlines has teamed up with GPTMC for the second year, while R Family Vacations and Mariah Hanson’s The Dinah Weekend are working with GPTMC for the third year. All three partnerships employ innovative and collaborative marketing programs, including cross-promotional advertising, e-mail outreach, social media and targeted public relations. Here’s a look at how GPTMC is working to get the gay-friendly Philly message out:

• Southwest

The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation’s (GPTMC) gophila.com and Travelocity are celebrating a two-year partnership that has generated more than 17,000 reservations, 28,600 room nights and $5.5 million in room revenue. The third year of the partnership marks the debut of a new look and new technology that makes the booking engine on the region’s official tourism Web site even more user friendly with easier-to-view hotel results; more photos, videos and interactive maps; and fewer clicks for hotel reservation completion.

What’s more, the partnership with Travelocity enables GPTMC to have more than 20 booking tools strategically placed throughout gophila.com,

Philadelphia is the 13^th most visited U.S. destination for gay and lesbian travelers, according to the 13^th annual LGBT Tourism Study of 4,500 gay and lesbian travelers conducted by San Francisco-based Community Marketing, Inc. This year’s report shows a remarkable increase in total visitation by gay and lesbian travelers to the Greater Philadelphia region and marks a three-year rise in the destination’s visitation ranking. Philadelphia first broke into the prized “Top 20 U.S. Destinations” list in 2006 when it ranked #16; it maintained that position in 2007. Gay and lesbian travelers spend $70 billion a year on travel

In 2007, the Greater Philadelphia region set a new record in the tourism industry by welcoming 30 million visitors. A new report released today by the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) also shows that in the past decade there has been 36% growth in total visitation, and overnight leisure travel soared by 63%.

GPTMC’s 2007 Visitor Volume Report includes data from Longwoods International, PKF Consulting, Tourism Economics and Smith Travel Research. A summary of the report is available for free at gophila.com/research. Here are some highlights:

• 30 million people visited Philadelphia, Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties. This

On Monday, October 6, 2008, Roger Dow, president and CEO of the Travel Industry Association (TIA), will talk to Philadelphia’s hospitality community about the trends and challenges that are impacting the global travel industry in 2008 and beyond. The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) has organized Dow’s presentation to coincide with the release of the latest regional tourism data. The event will take place from 8:30-10:00 a.m. at The Rittenhouse Hotel.

GPTMC’s new 2007 Visitor Volume Report shows that the Greater Philadelphia hospitality industry has continued a 10-year growth trend. In 1997 when GPTMC ran its first advertising campaign,

Wedding bells, the Liberty Bell and a three-day Fourth of July weekend has the hospitality industry still celebrating Independence Day. According to the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) and the Greater Philadelphia Hotel Association (GPHA), Philadelphia hotel occupancy soared to 87% on Friday, July 4, and visitors stayed the weekend with occupancy at 81% on Saturday, July 5. This marks the second year in a row for Fourth of July success for Philadelphia hotels. Last year, a city-wide convention propelled Philadelphia hotel occupancy to 82%.

“Our member hotels are crediting this year’s stellar occupancy to a strong mix of

On May 15, the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) will release its annual report, entitled Tourism 2008 Report to the Region, to members of the local, regional and national tourism and hospitality industry. Distribution of the report, themed "More Partners, More Promotions, More People" coincides with National Tourism Week, taking place May 10-18, 2008. The 50-page report provides a comprehensive snapshot of the previous year and a look toward the future of the region. Tourism 2008 also details how the Philadelphia region received $10.44 billion in direct, indirect and induced visitor spending in 2006 (the most recent year

The Philly Like A Local hotel package, one component of a program designed to provide the real deal from real Philadelphians on eating, drinking, music and culture, proved to be a success in year one, generating 1,332 room nights in its first 10 months and an estimated income of $475,000 for participating hotels. The package will be available for a second year at the Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia, the Loews Philadelphia, Park Hyatt at the Bellevue, The Rittenhouse Hotel, The Hilton Inn at Penn and the Ritz-Carlton Philadelphia, and it will include a newly compiled all-Philly music CD. The hotel