Press Release

PHILLY HAS “GOLDEN” OPPORTUNITY AS TUT’S LAST STOP IN U.S.
City Hotels, Restaurants And Shops Prepare For Record Number Of Visitors

PHILADELPHIA, February 5, 2006 - A celebration of all-things Egyptian is now underway in Philadelphia, and today the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) unveiled a $1 million marketing plan to promote the destination and its all-important sleep-over message. The centerpiece of the city’s king-sized celebration, Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs, presented by Mellon Financial Corporation, will run from February 3 through September 30, 2007 at The Franklin Institute, the last stop on its current North American tour.

Canopic Coffinette of Tutankhamun

Photo courtesy of National Geographic Traveler

Philadelphia’s coup to become the official last stop and only Northeast city to host the popular exhibition will pay off as the show is expected to draw one million visitors. More than 280,000 tickets were sold in advance of the show’s debut. A whopping 94% of ticket sales have come from markets outside of the Philadelphia market, with people traveling from as far as California, Oregon and Arizona.

“The King Tut exhibition will be in Philadelphia for nine months and through three seasons, giving us a blockbuster show to promote throughout most of 2007,” said Meryl Levitz, president and CEO, Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation. “The exhibition has a proven track record and will be a great incentive for an overnight stay in Philadelphia.”

Here’s an overview of the marketing campaign:

Tut Hotel Package:
Individual hotels will offer special King Tut-inspired hotel packages, enabling visitors to stay overnight and take in all that Philadelphia has to offer. The Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia and The Ritz-Carlton Philadelphia are among 13 hotels offering a package that includes untimed, undated, VIP tickets to the exhibition. Rooms are bookable by calling the hotel directly.

Advertising:
Print, radio and online advertising will reach national markets, with special emphasis on New York, Boston and Washington D.C. Tut will be huge in New York, literally, with the Boy King serving as the focus of a 100-foot banner on display at Madison Square Garden from December 1, 2006 through January 2, 2007. Other national spots include on-board advertising on Amtrak trains running from Boston to Washington D.C., lounge posters in select stations and back-lit displays in Washington D.C.’s Union Station and Boston’s South and Back Bay stations.

Public Relations:
GPTMC and The Franklin Institute have created a press kit focusing on all of the Egyptian-themed events, exhibitions and promotions taking place in Philadelphia over the course of Tut’s run. The kit will be distributed to more than 1,100 national and regional media. In addition, GPTMC will host several press trips with more than 50 top media from major cities, including New York, Toronto and Washington D.C.

Web site:
Gophila.com/tut is the place to go for all-things Tut. The Web page includes details about the exhibition, hotel packages and all special Tut promotions in Philadelphia. The gophila.com homepage features a new billboard in January focusing on Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs. Visitors to the site, which received nearly four million visits in 2005, can also send friends one of four Tut postcards featuring images from National Geographic magazine.

The Impact:
This isn’t the first time the city is hosting a blockbuster exhibition that will result in significant economic impact. Recently, Benjamin Franklin: In Search of a Better World and Salvador Dalí were major draws at the National Constitution Center and Philadelphia Museum of Art, respectively. The Dalí show generated $55 million in direct, indirect and induced spending from those who came to Philadelphia specifically to view the exhibition. Franklin’s 300th birthday exhibit generated $25 million. Visitors spend about $100 per day in Philadelphia, according to DK Shifflet, and overnight hotel visitors are spending close to $450 per day, according to the latest GPTMC hotel survey results.

The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) makes Philadelphia and The Countryside™ a premier destination through marketing and image building that increases business and promotes the region’s vitality. 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. On the pressroom, you can also subscribe to RSS feeds to receive updates on topics that are specifically of interest to you: What’s New, Dining, Events, Seasonal Travel, Hotel Packages and Tourism Research.

CONTACT:

Anthony Malerba, GPTMC
(215) 599-2291, anthony@gptmc.com

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