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Vacations, Not Business Travel, Drive New Tourism Record in Philadelphia


Skift Take

Philadelphia's tourism board is one of the most innovative when it comes to content marketing and getting the message out about its evolving and improving attractions. Hard visitor numbers validate those efforts.

Philadelphia had a record year for tourism in 2014 with 39.7 million visitors and $10.4 billion in economic impact, the city's tourism board Visit Philadelphia announced last week.

The city’s growth was driven by the leisure market, which accounts for 88 percent of visitation.

Although day visits are more common than longer stays, overnight leisure visitation has been the fastest growing type of tourism since 1997. Overnight leisure visitation increased 90 percent to 13.9 million in the 17 years since 1997.

Overnight and day business travel have remained relatively stagnant in recent years, according to Visit Philadelphia’s 2015 annual report.

The full report can be viewed below:

2015 Visit Philadelphia Annual Report

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