Building image, driving visitation, boosting the economy.
Philadelphia surprises people.
It reveals its multifaceted, captivating personality to them block by block, mural by mural, garden by garden, neighborhood by neighborhood.
Here, 100-year-old cheese shops happily live a few doors down from lauded chef-run restaurants. There’s so much art; it’s inside, outside and on the sides of buildings. The corner bar thrives, and just about everyone is a craft beer enthusiast. Clothing design, building design and park design inspire. Creativity bursts from art galleries, modern dance troupes, street performances, story slams, concerts and DJ parties.
Philadelphians count on festivals for any and all reasons, bike trails for fun and bike lanes for transport and people just being themselves.
VISIT PHILADELPHIA invites people to...well, visit Philadelphia.
We believe in the power of travel; it shapes a person and expands horizons. Philadelphia delivers on our promise of an urban, main street, foodie, historic, cultural, cool, eye-opening, independent experience. It’s one destination, five counties, countless things to do.
Philadelphia is our job and our passion. Some may call us Philly freaks, and we’re ok with/proud of that.
We want you to get to know Philadelphia. Smile at our ads; click around our websites; watch our videos; follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and the rest.
VISIT PHILADELPHIA is our name and our mission. As the region’s official tourism marketing agency, we build Greater Philadelphia’s image, drive visitation and boost the economy.
VISIT PHILADELPHIA increases the number of visitors, the number of nights they stay and the number of things they do. These marketing efforts also enhance the quality of life and sense of pride for residents.
We build Philadelphia’s brand and image. We give Philadelphia a voice through VISIT PHILADELPHIA's campaigns, media relations, advertising, websites and social media. It’s important that people feel that they know a destination — that’s what makes them want to visit.
VISIT PHILADELPHIA was founded in 1996 as Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the City of Philadelphia and The Pew Charitable Trusts.
In 1998, House Bill 2858, Act 174 designated VISIT PHILADELPHIA, then GPTMC, to serve as the official Regional Attractions Marketing Agency.
For more information on the importance and impact of the tourism and travel industry in Philadelphia, download VISIT PHILADELPHIA's full 2017 Annual Report or click the button below.
Tourism and hospitality is one of the largest industries in the region and important to the vitality of Greater Philadelphia. The growth of the industry depends on all types of visitors — leisure, business and convention — traveling to Philadelphia. In 2016, this industry generated more than $11 billion in economic impact in the region.
The money visitors spend supports local businesses, creates jobs and generates taxes, helping to build quality of life in Philadelphia.
VISIT PHILADELPHIA invites all travelers to visit the region, but our marketing specifically targets leisure travelers from America and Canada — those who come to Philadelphia to have fun.
Of the 42 million total visitors to the region, leisure travelers make up 88% and VISIT PHILADELPHIA has been an integral part of attracting and welcoming them here.
In 2016, 14.2 million more leisure travelers came to Greater Philadelphia than in 1997, when VISIT PHILADELPHIA began advertising. There’s been a 95% increase in overnight trips and a 101% increase in overnight leisure trips.
As Philadelphia’s appeal as a destination has grown, the leisure segment has become a key driver of downtown hotel demand.
Since VISIT PHILADELPHIA began advertising in 1997, Center City has seen a 296% increase in leisure hotel demand.
Leisure hotel demand in Center City has grown by an average of 8% a year over the last 20 years, more than twice as fast as overall demand (3%).
Weekend occupancy is a key indicator of a destination’s leisure strength.
For the past 11 years, Saturday night has been the busiest night of the week for Center City hotels. In 2016, Saturday night occupancy reached 88% for the second year in a row.
Saturday night occupancies in 2016 were higher than 90% (nearly sold out) for 37 out of the 53 Saturdays — a new record.
The continued growth in weekend occupancy rates means Philadelphia is increasingly being seen by potential visitors as a must-see leisure destination. And that's what we do here at VISIT PHILADELPHIA – we help people see how much fun there is to be had in Philadelphia and, in return, people are coming to Philadelphia to have fun.
For more information on the importance and impact of the tourism and travel industry in Philadelphia, download VISIT PHILADELPHIA's full 2017 Annual Report.
The in-house research department at VISIT PHILADELPHIA tracks visitor statistics, measures tourism's impact on the region and provides insight and tracking for every marketing program VISIT PHILADELPHIA develops. For more information on the research that VISIT PHILADELPHIA does, visit our Research page by clicking the button below.
We bring people to Philadelphia and The Countryside®. We get them to experience more while they're here and to stay in hotels. How? Branding, image building and activating.
Everything we do — advertising, communications, visitphilly.com and uwishunu.com, social media, media relations, event and attraction promotion, hotel packages, product development and even playing up Philly's starring role in pop culture — showcases and strengthens the ever-evolving Philadelphia brand.
As a marketing agency, VISIT PHILADELPHIA is always open to adapting how we brand and market Philadelphia to ensure that our messages are heard clearly and convincingly. Here are some of the ways we achieve our mission.
The most powerful way we communicate the voice, essence and image of Philadelphia is through our two official websites, visitphilly.com and uwishunu.com.
The sites are powerful calls to action that move people to visit and help them find the region’s hotels, restaurants and attractions.
In 2016 — VISIT PHILADELPHIA’s 20th year — these two sites had a record 20 million visits. That’s more than 1.5 million visits per month.
VISIT PHILADELPHIA seeks website visitors because we can convert "online visits" into "real-life visitors." Each web visit is an opportunity for VISIT PHILADELPHIA to improve that person's impression of Philadelphia, increase their desire to visit and get them to do more things while they're here.
Driving ReferralsVisitphilly.com and uwishunu.com sent 4 million clicks to our partner websites in 2016.
Called one of “Social Media’s Most Innovative Travel Companies” by Travel + Leisure, VISIT PHILADELPHIA takes its social standing seriously. We embraced social media as part of an integrated marketing strategy early on, breaking into the newest and most effective platforms, and we continue to refine our properties.
We now have more than 1.3 million fans on nine platforms, including:
VISIT PHILADELPHIA's advertising uses creative messaging that engages our key audiences and reaches them in locations where they’re most receptive to our invitations to visit. We enhance our traditional media buys and search-engine marketing with buzz-worthy tactics such as station dominations in New York and Washington, DC.
With Love shows you how Philly speaks — and thinks.
We know who we are, and we’re proud to be just that. With Love showcases Philadelphia’s robust cultural offerings — beyond the obvious — and invites travelers to come experience the unexpected. The campaign touts our great city’s storied attractions and highlights under-the-radar activities for travelers’ to-do-and-see lists.
Our With Love echo the city's new confidence, embodying how people are thinking, feeling and talking about Philadelphia today.
See more With love, Philadelphia XOXO
Through high-quality content, direct pitches, media events, an ever-expanding Visiting Journalists Program and strong media relationships, our media relations team places thousands of positive stories each year about Greater Philadelphia in a blend of high-value print, television, websites and blogs. Here's just a sampling of some of the accolades Philadelphia won this year and a look at some of the 9,500 stories generated last year:
10 Must-Visit U.S. Hotspots for 2017, Smarter Travel
America’s Favorite Cities, Travel + Leisure
The 26 Hottest Food Cities of 2016, Zagat
10 Best Food Cities in America Ranked, The Washington Post
The Best Cities In America For Street Art, Thrillist
Best in the U.S. 2016, Lonely Planet
View the VISIT PHILADELPHIA Pressroom
In addition to the aforementioned web, social media, advertising and communications efforts, VISIT PHILADELPHIA has several other initiatives aimed at bringing even more people to the region.
We run multiple campaigns at any given time — efforts that speak directly to art lovers, urban adventurers and millennials, along with African-American, Latino, LGBT and Canadian travelers.
For more information on these and all of VISIT PHILADELPHIA's marketing initiatives, take a few minutes to review our full 2017 Annual Report.
Meryl Levitz
President & Chief Executive Officer
At the helm of VISIT PHILADELPHIA since its inception in 1996, President and CEO Meryl Levitz has excelled in building the region’s image, driving visitation and boosting the economy. In fulfilling the mission of the region’s official tourism marketing organization, she has helped change perceptions about Philadelphia as a fun place to visit, built lasting and impactful partnerships and put Philly on people’s must-visit lists.
Recognized nationally for their tourism marketing work, Levitz and her team have worked hard to entice visitors—a record 42 million of them in 2016—to stay over night during the week, weekend and all year long. They do this through advertising, public relations, web and social media tactics, hotel marketing and research.
These efforts have grown the regional economy by creating jobs, boosting local businesses and generating tax revenue. In 2016, tourism generated $11 billion in economic impact and supported 96,600 jobs for Greater Philadelphia residents.
To read Meryl Levitz's full bio, click the button below.
Every month, Meryl emails thousands of VISIT PHILADELPHIA stakeholders with news and updates on the latest and greatest in lorem ipsum. Click below to see the most recent editions:
Manuel N. Stamatakis, Chair Founder and CEO, Capital Management Enterprises
Rhonda R. Cohen, Esquire, Vice Chair
Robert W. Bogle, Vice Chair President and CEO, The Philadelphia Tribune
James AdamsonGeneral Manager, Kimpton Hotel Monaco Philadelphia
Reginald ArchambaultGeneral Manager, The Rittenhouse Hotel
Darwin Beauvais, EsquirePartner, Dilworth Paxson LLP
Craig R. Carnaroli Executive Vice President, University of Pennsylvania
Anthony J. ContiManaging Partner (Retired), PricewaterhouseCoopers, Phila Ofc
Wendy Hamilton General Manager, SugarHouse Casino
Sheila Hess City Representative, City of Philadelphia
Honorable James F. KenneyMayor, City of Philadelphia
Obra Kernodle, IVCommissioner, Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board
Kevin Murnane General Manager, DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Philadelphia Center City
Bret Perkins Vice President, External and Government Affairs, Comcast Corporation
William R. Sasso, Esquire Chairman, Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young, LLP
Richard Vague Chairman, Governor’s Woods Foundation
Fred A. Shabel, Chairman Emeritus Vice Chairman, Comcast Spectacor
Meryl Levitz President and CEO, VISIT PHILADELPHIA
Engage with us. Follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook, subscribe to our emails and help us reach even more people.
If you have a question or comment for VISIT PHILADELPHIA or regarding visitphilly.com, please contact us via phone or email at:
Telephone: (215) 599-0776
Email: [email protected]
Mailing Address:
VISIT PHILADELPHIA
30 S. 17th Street
Suite 2010
Philadelphia, PA 19103
Click here to review job openings at VISIT PHILADELPHIA.
Stay in touch with us to see first-hand how we think, talk and live VISIT PHILADELPHIA every day. Our social media properties are engaged and engaging, offering an immediate way to be a part of our community.
We also encourage you to sign up for our e-newsletters. Always free-of-charge, our e-newsletters offer the best and latest information as to what’s happening with VISIT PHILADELPHIA and our work with the region.
See a complete list of our social media accounts and e-newsletter offerings
In the world of destination marketing, more collaboration means more visitation. That’s why VISIT PHILADELPHIA has been teaming up with regional partners for years. Learn how we can work together to promote your business and Greater Philadelphia to travelers. We want to share your stories through our communications, advertising, websites and social media.
Partnership Opportunities: We offer in-kind support to our partners through communications, advertising, social media, hotel, web and research initiatives.
Advertising on visitphilly.com: VISIT PHILADELPHIA provides advertising opportunities for museums, attractions, restaurants, hotels and more in the region interested in advertising on visitphilly.com.
Joint Marketing Program: The campaign With Love, Philadelphia XOXO® is a proven image builder and business driver. Organizations can get in on the media buy through this program, which includes strategic direction, creative support and matched investment from VISIT PHILADELPHIA.
Special Sections: Get your message in the hands of travelers while they’re traveling. We’ve spearheaded several special sections in American Way and The National — the on-board magazines of American Airlines and Amtrak, respectively — that highlight the region to national and international travelers in the sky and on the rails.
Read more about VISIT PHILADELPHIA partnership opportunities
To learn more about our intellectual property and trademarks, please click here.
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