Recognizing, Honoring, and Celebrating The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation for Its Great Success on Its 10th Anniversary, Building The Region's Economy and Image Through Destination Marketing to Increase The Number Of Visitors, The Number Of Nights They Stay And The Number Of Things They Do In The Five-County Region.

WHEREAS, The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation is a private, non-profit organization founded and funded in 1996 by the City of Philadelphia, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the Pew Charitable Trusts. In 1997, The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation launched the first consumer campaign to promote to potential tourists the diverse historical, cultural and entertainment/leisure aspects of the five-county region (Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia); and

WHEREAS, The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation promotes Philadelphia and Its Countryside as an incredible, affordable, accessible and desirable destination to the media and to leisure tourists. The resulting exposure is also naturally picked up by business travelers, convention attendees, business and university recruits, and people who travel to visit friends and relatives; and

WHEREAS, The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation produced the Philly’s More Fun When You Sleep Over® Campaign, recognized as the number one tourism recovery generator in the country; the campaign has continued into 2005; and

WHEREAS, The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation designs and conducts local, regional, national and online advertising campaigns to put The Philadelphia and The Countryside “on the air” and top of mind all year long as an overnight destination and grant programs extending the advertising reach of historical, cultural and multicultural initiatives to markets beyond the five-county area; and

WHEREAS, The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation works to improve the visitor experience with such initiatives as holiday lighting, bringing back the Phlash, creating the Neighborhood Tourism Network, creating Culture Files (with a grant from the William Penn Foundation) and working with the Delaware River Port Authority to create the Cruise Philly experience for this new tourism market; and

WHEREAS, Overnight leisure tourism has increased 49% since Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation began advertising, from 5.59 million visitors in 1997 to 8.34 million in 2004.

RESOLVED, BY TILE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That City Council Hereby Recognizes, Honors, And Celebrates the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation on it’s 10th Anniversary, for it’s great success builds the region’s economy and image through destination marketing to increase the number of visitors, the number of nights they stay and the number of things they do in the five-county region.

FURTHER RESOLVED, That an Engrossed copy of this Resolution be presented to Meryl Levitz, the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation, as further evidencing the sincere admiration and gratitude of this legislative body.

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