6. Visitation to Greater Philadelphia Greater Philadelphia welcomed more than 29 million domestic visitors in 2008. This number represents a modest 0.7% decline (in line with national trends) from 2007 when the King Tut exhibition at The Franklin drew more than one million visitors. The majority of these visitors (80%) were visiting for a leisure purpose, including 10.37 million overnight leisure visitors Historical Visitation Visitation to Greater Philadelphia has risen steadily since GPTMC’s founding in 1997, when the region welcomed 21.47 million visitors. In 2008, that figure was 29.04 million, a 35% increase. Over this period, growth has been slowed only by the tourism downturn after September 11, 2001 and the economic concerns of 2008. The strong rebound after 2001 provides reason to be optimistic that the region’s tourism industry will bounce back from the current recession stronger than ever
7. Who Visits Greater Philadelphia? “The work that GPTMC does certainly adds to the buzz about Philadelphia, enhances awareness of our city’s attributes and helps the city’s hotels and the PCVB sell to meetings and conventions.” – Peter Tyson, vice president, PKF Consulting “I LOVE the wonderful range of cultural activities available to Philadelphia residents and visitors in all price ranges.” – Jane G. Pepper, president, The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society Source: Longwoods International Source: Longwoods International Greater Philadelphia’s visitors are highly educated and possess disposable income— 61% of overnight visitors hold a college degree or higher, and 51% have a household income of more than $75,000 annually. In 2008, the average overnight travel party brought 2.5 visitors to the region, with 25% of parties traveling with a child under 18. Day visitors are slightly younger, less affluent and more likely to be traveling with children in their party than overnight visitors.