NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELER
DECLARES:
PHILADELPHIA IS AMERICA'S NEXT GREAT CITY
Nation's Largest Travel Magazine Spotlights Philly In Its First
"Next Great Places" Issue
PHILADELPHIA ,
September 28, 2005 - The world's
most widely read travel magazine, National Geographic Traveler
(NGT),with more than five million international readers, has
named Philadelphia America 's " Next Great City " in its October
issue, which hits newsstands on October 4, 2005 .
Inside the dining room at Cuba Libre
Photo by R. Nowitz for GPTMC
"Philadelphia has everything we were looking for and more,"
explains Keith Bellows, editor-in-chief of NGT. "A
fascinating mixture of old and new, street life and high culture, a
booming real estate market, accessibility, innovative technology,
cutting-edge restaurants, theater and music."
The "Next Great Places" issue will be unveiled on Thursday,
September 29, 2005, at a reception at Cuba Libre Restaurant
& Rum Bar, where National Geographic
Traveler, the City of Philadelphia and the Greater
Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) will bring
together civic, corporate and community leaders who have worked to
make America's first great city its "Next Great City."
Spotlighting everything from the gallery-packed Old City
("arguably, the liveliest urban neighborhood between Soho in New
York and SoBe in Miami"), South Philly's "addytude," the Odunde
Afrikan-American Street Festival, Stephen Starr's restaurants,
the development of citywide WIFI and real estate developer Tony
Goldman, the nine-page article takes readers on an
up-close-and-personal tour highlighting all that the city has to
offer. Written by contributing editor Andrew Nelson, a connoisseur
of American cities, with photographs by Raymond Patrick, the piece
paints Philadelphia as a vibrant urban destination and "a place for
creative solutions and big pictures."
"This story provides an exceptional opportunity to showcase
Philadelphia as a sophisticated destination," says Meryl Levitz,
president & CEO, GPTMC. "While our history has always set us
apart, our arts and cultural attractions, restaurants and
nightspots are also impressive and well deserving of the
extraordinary recognition the magazine has bestowed upon them. The
story showcases Philadelphia as the invigorating destination it is,
and in doing so lends us an invaluable hand in our effort to expand
the city's image beyond cheesesteaks, the Liberty Bell and Rocky.
We expect the readers of National Geographic Traveler to
come to Philadelphia in great numbers as a result."
Although Philadelphia has received significant press coverage
recently, including placements in Rolling Stone, Travel +
Leisure and The New York Times, the NGT
piece is clearly a milestone in terms of reaching travel-savvy
readers. As the largest travel title in the U.S. (versus Travel
& Leisure,Conde Nast Traveler and Arthur
Frommer's Budget Travel), with a total circulation of
5,327,000, the NGT story stands to significantly boost
Philadelphia's image as America's not-to-miss city and greatly
impact the region's tourism growth and civic pride.
If Philadelphia was the place to be for the Fourth of
July, it's now the place to be, period. From last year's
broadcast of MTV's The Real World to this summer's
Live 8 and Elton John benefit concerts to the upcoming
Ben Franklin 300 Philadelphia celebration, Philadelphia
has gained serious momentum that will continue thanks to this new
recognition.
National Geographic Traveler is the world's most widely
read travel magazine. Published eight times a year, the magazine is
available by subscription (800-NGS-LINE) and on newsstands in the
United States ($4.95) and Canada ($6.95). For more information,
visit www.nationalgeographic.com/traveler.
AOL Keyword: NatGeo Traveler.
The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC)
builds the region's economy and image through destination marketing
to increase the number of visitors, the number of nights they stay
and the number of things they do in the five-county region. For
more information about travel to Philadelphia, visit www.gophila.com or call the
Independence Visitor Center, located in Independence National
Historical Park, at (800) 537-7676.
Note to Editors: For photos of Greater
Philadelphia, visit our Photo
Gallery.
CONTACT:
Jeff Guaracino, GPTMC
(215) 599- 2290, jeff@gptmc.com