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) 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 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

Romantics looking to propose to their loved one in a big way have a chance to do just that thanks to the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation’s (GPTMC) With Love, Philadelphia XOXO® contest that includes: a personalized proposal love letter on a Philadelphia Trolley Works trolley, a $5,000 Hearts on Fire Acclaim engagement ring from Bernie Robbins Jewelers, an engagement-day photo shoot and an overnight stay at the Hotel Monaco Philadelphia. Beginning on January 24, 2013, those interested in popping the question on Valentine’s Day can submit their Philly-centric love story and photo at visitphilly.com/propose. The contest closes on

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

The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) continues to aggressively develop its social media initiatives, breaking into the newest and most effective platforms and continuing to refine its current properties. Recent developments include a uwishunu.com feed for Google Field Trip, a fun Visit Gay Philly Facebook promotion and new Instagram accounts.

“GPTMC embraced social media early on, and we continue to adapt and grow with it as new technologies are introduced,” says Meryl Levitz, president and CEO, GPTMC. “Best of all, we’re seeing that our social media fans are acting on what they read. In fact, in a recent

The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) today debuted a new personality quiz on facebook.com/visitgayphilly that will help LGBT visitors figure out which Philadelphia neighborhood best suits them and give them a chance to win a weekend stay in Philadelphia, including tickets to a Lady Gaga concert. A part of GPTMC’s popular Philadelphia – Get Your History Straight and Your Nightlife Gay® campaign, the fun Facebook-based quiz asks questions about participant’s dining, shopping and nightlife preferences and then determines which of five Philly neighborhoods—the Gayborhood, Old City, Rittenhouse Square/Benjamin Franklin Parkway, East Passyunk and New Hope—meshes best with their mood.

Philly blog uwishunu.com contributes to its own popular “Weekend Picks” series with its Moonlit Movie Screening in Rittenhouse Square on Saturday, August 11 at 8:30 p.m. The movie pick, Midnight in Paris, underscores the French influence found all over the city—including Rittenhouse Square, designed by French-born architect Paul Cret. The inflatable screen will be set up on the 18^th Street side of the park at Locust Street.

In conjunction with the outdoor movie, the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society is adding evening hours and jazz music to its across-the-street pop-up garden, open from 6:00-9:00 p.m., for one night only, and Philly

Beginning today, the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) embraces summer in a major way with its 31 Days With Summer Love promotion, encouraging residents and visitors to enjoy the many fun and only-in-Philly experiences available in the region. A component of GPTMC’s popular With Love, Philadelphia XOXO® campaign, the facebook.com/visitphilly sweepstakes features 60 prizes, including restaurant giftcards, attraction tickets, tour passes, hotel stays and a pair of grand-prize Fuji bikes—all valued at nearly $10,000.

From July 16 through August 15, fans of facebook.com/visitphilly will have a chance to win one of 31 inspired Philly prize packages—several of which include

For one month only, the popular Philly Overnight® Hotel Package is going mega. Visitors who book the Mega Philly Overnight Hotel Package for a stay in the month of August get accommodations for two nights and free hotel parking as usual, along with a voucher for two roundtrip megabus.com tickets for a return trip to Philadelphia. The package is available at more than 45 hotels in the city and region, and it’s bookable at visitphilly.com/phillyovernight.

The free megabus.com tickets to and from Philadelphia are valid through March 15, 2013 from the following 14 cities: Boston, MA; Buffalo, NY; Buffalo

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

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 Foodspotting program. Winning 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 inaugural SMITTYS 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—including such big names as JetBlue, VisitSweden, Expedia, Adventures by Disney and the close-to-home Visit Bucks County—

Anyone who has wished to be inside a Van Gogh painting can now get a bit closer to that dream, thanks to an inventive Foursquare program and contest from the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC). Through “Check In to a Masterpiece,” part of the With Art Philadelphia™ campaign, people can share their art experiences in a new way—by virtually checking in at 12 works of art in Philadelphia. Plus, this summer, they could win a grand prize including an overnight stay in Philadelphia and museum memberships and tickets.

To leverage the energy of the biggest art story in the