Home to dozens of authentic haunted attractions, Philadelphia is showing off its fun side this Halloween with the queen of horror films, Elvira "Mistress of the Dark," appearing at several events on Friday, October 31, 2008. The vampy, campy, good-time ghoul will kick off Halloween weekend at the Edgar Allan Poe National Historical Site with her interpretation of The Raven, then it's off to Eastern State Penitentiary and a party at the Park Hyatt Philadelphia at the Bellevue, where Bram Stoker penned portions of Dracula. Fox 29 is our Halloween media partner, and gophila.com/halloween is the region's go-to site for all-things spooky in Philadelphia throughout the month of October. Web visitors can even view a personalized message from Elvira.

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The quaint towns of the Philadelphia countryside are perfect for a weekend getaway, which is why GPTMC is hosting two press trips this fall to show them off. The first long weekend excursion took place September 25-28, 2008 in the Brandywine Valley and Chester County. The trip included visits to historic sites, antique shops, restaurants, a garden, a winery and other attractions in Wayne, Media, Kennett Square, West Chester and Chestnut Hill. A second press trip will focus on fashion and design in Bucks and Montgomery counties. Media guests will visit galleries, talk to designers and shop at independent boutiques. Check out the new Towns of the Philadelphia Countryside press kit and photos at gophila.com/pressroom.

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With the opening of the Please Touch Museum® in its new Fairmount Park location comes a hotel package for families eager to explore the $88 million attraction. Available from November 1, 2008 through January 31, 2009 at nearly a dozen hotels, the Play & Stay Hotel Package includes:

• Overnight accommodations
• Free parking at the hotel and the museum (upon availability)
• Four VIP tickets to the museum for two adults and two children, including a "Speed Pass" to skip the lines (available exclusively through the hotel package)
• Discount at Please Touch Café
• Four carousel rides
• Special seating at theater shows throughout the day

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Summer traffic to gophila.com was huge — especially in August when the site set its share of usage records. Here's a look at how people spent their time on gophila.com:

• gophila.com's immersive and experiential photo slideshows racked up nearly 20,000 views in August, making it the best month to date for this new feature.
• gophila.com's mobile site, available on cell phones and PDAs, received a record 30,000 page views in July and August.
• The Comcast Center page on gophila.com received more than 9,000 page views in the two days after an AP article about it appeared on cnn.com on August 20, 2008.
• Our gophila.com American Express gift card contest received more than 25,000 entrees before closing on September 8, 2008.
• The overall site bounce rate dropped by more than 21% (August 2008 versus August 2007), meaning gophila.com is doing a significantly better job of retaining readers.

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Now in its ninth year, GPTMC's affordable cooperative advertising program — offering ad space to regional partners at a 40% discount — has added online advertising to the mix for the first time. The ads will reach people in New York, Washington, DC, Baltimore, Harrisburg and in the Philadelphia area, with flights from September through November 2008 and February through May 2009. Sites include:

• goodhousekeeping.com
• townandcountrymag.com
• ladieshomejournal.com
• washingtonpost.com
• phillymag.com

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This summer GPTMC's in-house and freelance photographers were busy capturing Philadelphia's beauty during nearly 30 new photo shoots that took place at historic sites, restaurants, gardens, wineries and other attractions throughout the region. Famed National Geographic Traveler contributing editor/photographer and New Hope resident Bob Krist took to the skies for our most ambitious shoot of the season. Krist was charged with photographing the city's new skyline from many different vantage points — during day and night. GPTMC collaborated with the Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau, Select Greater Philadelphia, Comcast and Liberty Property Trust on the project. Nearly 300 new photos are now available for use by the media and non-profit organizations promoting Philadelphia, and they will soon be viewable on gophila.com/pressroom.

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End of summer was a time of celebration for GPTMC thanks to four awards that recognized a variety of projects, including two video projects, a first-time event and our ever-popular Web site gophila.com. Here's a look:

• Leading travel industry trade publication Travel Weekly recognized gophila.com with a 2008 Silver Magellan Award in the Overall Destinations/City category. The 2008 Magellan Awards received entries from top travel organizations and professionals worldwide.
• CW Philly won a 2008 Mid-Atlantic Emmy® Award in the Community/Public Service category for a series of public service announcements produced in partnership with GPTMC and The African American Museum in Philadelphia.
• The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) awarded GPTMC a Bronze Anvil in the vodcast category for IllaDates, our video series on inexpensive dating through Philadelphia neighborhoods, available on uwishunu.com.
• GPTMC also received a PRSA Bronze Anvil Award of Commendation for BlogPhiladelphia, the city's first social media "unconference" held in summer 2007.

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Journalists are taking notice of Philadelphia as a hot urban destination, as evidenced by the many accolades bestowed on the city in September and October 2008:

• Business Facilities chose Philadelphia as one of seven destinations for its "Editors' Location Picks" list featured in the September issue of the publication.
• Wine Spectator magazine featured Di Bruno Bros. and Chestnut Hill Cheese Shop in its September article entitled "The World of Cheese: 100 Great Cheeses."
• Simply the Best named The Rittenhouse Hotel one of the "Best Hotels in the World" in its September/October issue roundup.
• Imbibe magazine picked three Philly spots for its September/October article showcasing the "100 Best Places to Drink Beer in America." Tria, Monk's Cafe and Standard Tap all made the cut.
• Bon Appetit listed Tria in its October story entitled, "The Hot 10: Raising the Wine Bar" list.
• SustainLane.com ranked Philadelphia eighth on its "2008 U.S. City Rankings" list, which appeared on the Web site on September 22, 2008.
• Gourmet magazine named McGillin's Olde Ale House, Philadelphia's oldest continuously operating tavern, one of "14 Cool Old Bars from New York City to Hollywood."

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• "Yes, Chicago is a great city to eat your way through, but don't dismiss the City of Brotherly Love. Spanning just more than 25 blocks from river to river, Philadelphia packs in fantastic dining and bars for every taste."
  — Time Out Chicago (circulation: 46,000), September 11-17, 2008
• "You are looking live at Center City in Philadelphia, a city that played such an important role in forming this nation and one of the current battlegrounds of the 2008 presidential race." — Meredith Viera, The Today Show (viewership: 9,111,984), September 22, 2008
• "Northern Liberties north of Center City has become one of the hottest neighborhoods for young artists and hipsters who frequent the area's teeming restaurants and bars. Prices for homes have been rising but affordable space is still available, especially in the neighborhood's northern limits." — BusinessWeek (circulation: 933,566), September 23, 2008
• "After decades of deterioration, Memorial Hall, one of the jewels of the Centennial Exposition of 1876, is regaining its luster in anticipation of a new role as home of the popular Please Touch Museum." — Associated Press, September 14, 2008
• "Nevertheless, getting Elvira up in your spot on Halloween is like getting Dick Clark to show up at your New Year's Eve party. So make your plans accordingly when we tell you that we just received word that this legend of the horror world … will be making appearances at the Edgar Allan Poe National Historical Site, Eastern State Penitentiary and the Park Hyatt Philadelphia at the Bellevue this Halloween." — philebrity.com
  (Technorati ranking of 17,809 out of 112.8 million blogs), September 9, 2008
• "Don't look now, but Philadelphia is creeping up on San Francisco and Portland in the race to be America's greenest city. Already home to PhillyCarShare--one of the larger and more affordable car-sharing fleets around--and the Comcast Tower, the tallest LEED-certified building in the country, Philly is celebrating everything organ-loca-enivro-friendly this Sunday at the 20,000-person GreenFest Philly." — jaunted.com
  (Technorati ranking of 3,932 out of 112.8 million blogs), September 5, 2008
• "Some 14,000 people—from Kenyan elites to suburban moms (like me)—flock to Philly with the same goal: to run fast. … The first 5-K showed off some of Philly's best sides, passing regal buildings lining the Ben Franklin Parkway and the Liberty Bell, before looping through the neighborhoods of Center City." — Runner's World (circulation: 641,381), September, 2008.
• "It's hard to pinpoint the moment I fell in love with Philadelphia — there are so many wonderful surprises in this city. A fine combination of early U.S. history, world-class architecture, culture, gourmet dining, magnificent public gardens, and city parks make it a destination that everyone should absolutely visit once." — Home by Design (circulation: 350,000), August/September 2008
• "Today Philly is so welcoming to gay and lesbian travellers one could call it the city of 'Brotherly AND Sisterly Love.' … Gay-friendly events … are spread throughout the year. There is rarely a month without an event."
  — Toronto Sun (circulation: 249,000), August 31, 2008
• "Philadelphia is quickly growing from a historic college town into a bustling destination for the hippest in art and music. Those who might in the past have chosen New York City as their home are now setting their sights on Philly." — findingdulcinea.com, August 12, 2008
• "And if you're looking for a quick escape, where you don't have to worry about the car, the distance, or where you would find a good place to eat, please let me suggest Philly." — INBrooklyn, a special section of the Brooklyn Eagle (circulation: 100,000), August 7, 2008
• "Invited by a friend, who is a former Connecticut bed-and-breakfast owner, now relocated to Society Hill, we set our sights on a 3-1/2 day trip to Philadelphia. It was not nearly enough for this history-rich city of Brotherly Love." — Stamford Lifestyles, August 2008
• "These days, the City of Brotherly Love is a magnet for tourists who come from far and wide to see that history up close." — National Public Radio, July 27, 2008
• "In addition to smart urban planning — one of the earliest planned suburban streets was built here in 1854 — Chestnut Hill is a walker's paradise because there's just so much delicious domestic architecture to nibble on." — The Globe and Mail (circulation: 143,372), July 4, 2008

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