The Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau (PHLCVB), the official tourism promotion agency for US city, is anticipating visitors in 2023 will account for one million hotel room nights, generate $444m in direct spending and $726m in economic impact on the region.
The bureau is confident travellers from China will return following the country’s decision to reopen its borders. Pre-pandemic, Chinese visitors were the largest market by spend for international visitors coming to Philadelphia.
“The return of overseas visitors to the city will boost our post-pandemic recovery,” said Gregg Caren, PHLCVB president and CEO. “Philadelphia is primed and ready to welcome back even more international travellers in 2023. We are particularly eager to see the return of Chinese visitors, who have historically been a strong market for the city.”
The industry hopes to build on the improvements seen in 2022, when overseas visitors supported close to 3,000 full-time hospitality jobs and generated $531.3m in economic impact for the city.
In 2022, inbound overseas markets outperformed initial projections. Visitation from the UK recovered to 85% of pre-pandemic levels, while visitation from Germany grew to 75%. The Netherlands and Ireland arrivals even surpassed pre-pandemic visitation by 11% and 43%, respectively.
PHLCVB’s current marketing efforts focus on eight key markets: UK, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, India and China.
Last year the PHLCVB teams showcased Philadelphia to more than 500 key media outlets and influencers from all over the world covering a wide range of topics including lifestyle, travel, art, food and adventure, highlighting the city as an all-encompassing destination.
In the coming months, the PHLCVB team will travel to the UK, Ireland and India for sales missions. PHLCVB representatives in the UK, Germany and France will also be attending several in-market consumer trade shows and hosting travel agent trainings to further Philadelphia’s presence on the global stage.
To learn more, visit www.DiscoverPHL.com
Photo:Skyline from South Street Bridge. K. Huff for PHLCVB.
