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| CONTACT: | Jeff Guaracino | GPTMC | (215) 599-2290 | jeff@gptmc.com |
PHILLY
GOES
INTO
LABOR
DAY
WITH
BEST
SUMMER
TOURIST
SEASON
IN
FIVE
YEARS
Hotels And
Attractions Report Significant Increases In Traffic Over Previous Summers
PHILADELPHIA, September 10, 2004 – Labor Day may end the strongest summer tourism season for Philadelphia in more than five years, according to a recent analysis by the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC). Data from a new online survey of recent visitors, attendance figures at local attractions and hotel data combined with new attractions and strong promotional efforts has led to a winning combination for summer 2004.
While final numbers won’t be available until the fall, early indications came from:
Hotels:
Hotel occupancy in Center City rose to 82% in both June and July 2004 compared
to 72% in June 2003 and 67% in July 2003. The last time hotel occupancy hit
the 82% mark in the summer was in June 1998. The average daily rate (ADR) for
hotel rooms was approximately $6 higher this July/August compared to last
July/August.
Attractions:
The Independence National Historical Park tracked more than one million
people in July, an increase of 30.7% over July 2003; The Franklin Institute
Science Museum announced record summer attendance resulting from its
Titanic: The Artifact Exhibit, with 110,000 visitors in a four-week
period; and Ride The Ducks will end the season with a 73% increase over
last summer.
Summer Visitation:
With Web visitation steadily climbing, GPTMC conducted an online survey of
gophila.com
subscribers, polling those who came to Philadelphia from May through July. Of
the 1,200 respondents, 84% stayed in a hotel/motel and 54% are planning to
return to the region within three months. In addition to visiting historical
attractions, 20% of tourists attended a concert or musical performance and 17%
attended a sporting event.
“The occupancy results for June and July of 2004 are extraordinary when compared to the results for these months for the past five-plus years. This is extremely encouraging as it represents obvious success in marketing to the tourism and convention/group meeting segments by all constituencies in Philadelphia,” said Peter Tyson, President, Tyson Hospitality Consulting of Pennington New Jersey.
The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC), Philadelphia's regional tourism marketing agency, is a private, non-profit organization dedicated to building the region's economy and positive image through tourism and destination marketing. For more information about travel to Philadelphia, call the new Independence Visitor Center, located in Independence National Historical Park, at (800) 537-7676, or visit www.gophila.com. For information about arts and cultural attractions in the region, click on the CultureFiles link.
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Note to Editors: For photos of Greater Philadelphia, visit the photo gallery of
gophila.com/pressroom.
