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) 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 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

It was a record-setting year for the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation’s (GPTMC) web properties, with visitphilly.com and uwishunu.com welcoming 8.7 million visits—a 33% increase from 2011. Both sites, along with GPTMC’s 16 ahead-of-the-curve social media properties, relied on timely content, vibrant photography, technical innovation and all of the company’s integrated marketing muscle to attract and engage potential visitors. Here’s a look at some 2012 news and numbers worth bragging about:

Visitphilly.com Is Tops:

1. Out of the 10 largest cities in the United States, Philadelphia has the most-visited destination website in visitphilly.com, ranking above powerhouse destinations such as

Lonely Planet, the top travel guidebook publisher in the world, today released its annual list of the “Top 10 U.S. Destinations for 2013,” and Philadelphia landed high atop the list in the number four position based on its strong arts scene. The locations—both emerging and perennial favorites—were selected and ranked by the company’s team of U.S.-based editors and authors. Other destinations on the list include: Louisville, Kentucky; Fairbanks, Alaska; Eastern Sierra, California; and Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota.

“We’re proud that Philadelphia made the list, and we’re pleased that Lonely Planet’s writers and editors recognize the city as an ‘arts

Philadelphia’s Current Hispanic Population:

• As of the last U.S. Census (2010), there were 187,611 Latinos living in the city of Philadelphia.
  • 121,643 are Puerto Rican or of Puerto Rican descent.
  • 15,531 are Mexican or of Mexican descent.
  • 3,930 are Cuban or of Cuban descent.
  • 46,507 are of other Hispanic descent.

The Growth In Philadelphia’s Hispanic Population Over The Last Decade:

• Hispanics represent 12.3% of the city of Philadelphia’s population and 5.7% of Pennsylvania’s population.
• From 2000-2010, the Hispanic population grew 46% in the city of Philadelphia and 83% in Pennsylvania.
• According to the 2010 census, the Mexican population

The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) released its Greater Philadelphia Tourism 2012: Report to the Region during its fifth annual Hospitality Leaders Luncheon today, and the report reveals that the region welcomed a record 38 million domestic visitors in 2011. Themed “The Art of Collaboration,” the annual report also emphasizes the importance of partnerships for the success of the tourism industry in Philadelphia.

“Collaboration drives our competitiveness as a destination,” said Meryl Levitz, president and CEO of GPTMC. “And collaboration is the spirit behind our newest marketing effort, With Art Philadelphia™, an unprecedented partnership that positions Philadelphia as a

Today, the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) announced that Joanne Griffonetti of Philadelphia won the 29 Nights of Dates contest grand prize—a red Vespa with two With Love, Philadelphia XOXO® helmets. The month-long sweepstakes generated 53,672 entrants from all over the country, plus 12,052 new Visit Philly Facebook fans and 4,786 new monthly email subscribers. On average, 1,850 people per day entered to win the daily changing 29 dates, which included packages of attraction tickets, restaurant gift cards, tours, hotel stays and even a hot air balloon ride.

A component of GPTMC’s popular With Love campaign, which has been

One of the country’s most successful tourism blogs, the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation’s (GPTMC) uwishunu.com celebrates its fifth anniversary by launching Philly 101, a daily video series starring 101 Philadelphians who will share their Philly tips and insights (ones that you wish you knew). This engaging project comes after the site welcomed a record-breaking two million visits in 2011—that’s one million more visits than in 2010.

Philly 101:
The Philly 101 video series will launch in March 2012 and run for 101 days. People will find the videos on the GPTMC’s social media sites, such as facebook.com/visitphilly,

The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) recently received a nationally coveted Destiny Award from the U.S. Travel Association for its $3.25 million With Love, Philadelphia XOXO® campaign. Philadelphia competed against notable destination marketing organizations across the country for the honor of best full marketing campaign.

“This year’s Destiny Awards competition produced a number of standout entries,” said Roger Dow, president and CEO, U.S. Travel Association. “The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation’s winning With Love campaign truly reflected the depth of innovative and effective marketing programs now being carried out by our industry.”

Created in 1983, the Destiny Awards are

This is a U.S. Travel Association Press Release

Reducing state and local tourism marketing programs in the name of saving taxpayer dollars impedes economic growth, according to new research conducted by Longwoods International and commissioned by the U.S. Travel Association. A comprehensive analysis of recent campaigns by the State of Michigan and the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) reveals that marketing programs drive greater visitation, generate new tax dollars and create jobs for states and local communities.

"There's a reason that America’s most prominent brands continue to increase their marketing budgets: it works," said Roger Dow, president and CEO

Greater Philadelphia is a hot topic among the national press in 2011, with an additional 14 buzz-worthy accolades awarded to the area in the past few months for its top-notch historical attractions, dining options and sports scene. Noted as “best” and “trendsetting,” Philadelphia created applause amongst the likes of Budget Travel, forbes.com, Grub Street and many other reputable media outlets. Travelers should get out their bucket lists and add these must-dos to their Philly itineraries:

Touring Around:

1. In March, Budget Travel said that Independence Hall is one of “15 Places Your Kids Should See Before 15.”
2. The following

Today the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) released Greater Philadelphia Tourism 2011: Report to the Region. Inside, readers can find record-breaking numbers from the Greater Philadelphia tourism and hospitality industry and results from a new return-on-investment study on the With Love, Philadelphia XOXO® campaign—both announced for the first time in the 28-page book. What’s more, GPTMC offers insight on “Today’s Traveler” and takes a look back at “15 Highlights From 15 Years.” Here’s a preview of what’s inside:

Record Numbers:

• Greater Philadelphia welcomed 37.4 million visitors in 2010, up 4% from 36 million in 2009. Of those, 33.1

Only three months into the new year, Greater Philadelphia’s restaurants, hotels, events, beer and more are racking up all kinds of accolades from major national publications, websites and blogs. Calling the city “romantic” and “underrated,” Philadelphia has won praise for its top-notch children’s museum (Please Touch Museum®), its must-see annual events (Philadelphia International Flower Show), its mouth-watering sandwiches (Koja and Paesano’s) and much more. Here’s a look at 14 accolades making headlines so far this year:

The City Itself:

1. In its March issue, Travel + Leisure listed Philadelphia in its “World’s Most Underrated

Philadelphia broke into the top 10 U.S. destinations visited by gay and lesbian travelers in 2010—just seven years after the launch of the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation’s (GPTMC) groundbreaking Philadelphia – Get Your History Straight and Your Nightlife Gay® campaign. According to expert gay and lesbian research company Community Marketing, Inc.’s annual LGBT Tourism Study, Philadelphia tied for the #9 spot on the list of most-visited destinations and tied for the #2 spot on the list of the destinations most effectively promoting to LGBT travelers. Before GPTMC’s gay and lesbian tourism marketing campaign kicked off in 2003, the region

Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) today announced that visitphilly.com—the region’s official visitor site that launched with a new look and new name one year ago—will debut a mobile version of the site. What’s more, GPTMC received its highest web traffic to date in 2010, with 4.3 million visits.

New Mobile Site:
Set to launch February 1, 2011, the visitphilly.com mobile site is the latest effort by GPTMC to keep Philadelphia and The Countryside® within reach for travelers, no matter where they are. The mobile version of the site will include:

• Visitors’ most-clicked options, such as “Places to

Philadelphia was named a “Best U.S. Destination” by LOGO, the gay and lesbian network owned by Viacom’s MTV Networks. An international panel of travel journalists compiled the list, made up of Philadelphia, Chicago, Fort Lauderdale, Las Vegas, Provincetown and San Francisco, for LOGO’s annual “TripOut Gay Travel Awards.”

Travelers can vote online for their favorite U.S. destination among the six contenders through October 18, 2010. To vote for Philadelphia, go to visitphilly.com/gay or tripoutgaytravel.com/awards.

“Philadelphia is an exceptional getaway for gay travelers,” said Ed Salvato, one travel expert who participated in the “TripOut Gay Travel Awards” nomination process. “This city

In 2008, the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) conducted the Greater Philadelphia Food System Study to better understand the region’s food systems—all the processes involved in feeding a population, from growing and harvesting to processing and packaging. The study, released in January 2010, covers a wide range of food supply issues such as agricultural production, natural resources, the significance of the food economy and the people behind it all. Here are some key findings:

PHILLY FOODSHED: The region’s foodshed encompasses a 100-mile radius that extends from Center City, Philadelphia to 70 counties in five states, including Pennsylvania, New Jersey,

People are falling more in love with the With Love, Philadelphia XOXO™ tourism marketing campaign, and this summer promises to be filled with affection in the City of Brotherly Love as year two of the popular campaign gets underway. Victory Brewing Company, Capogiro Gelato Artisans, Where® Philadelphia magazine, the Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau, the Philadelphia Phillies and the Independence Visitor Center are joining forces with the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) to make With Love an experience that people can not only see, but also touch and taste.

Thanks to the improving economy, Philadelphia’s strength in the leisure