Philadelphia tourism

A City of U.S. “Firsts” Reclaims Top-Tier Status

Published August 26, 2015 | By Clark Norton

Elfreth’s Alley: The oldest residential street in the U.S. Photo by Charles Ridgeway.

Quick Quiz:

What city in the U.S. can claim the first American:

Public school (1698)
Residential street (1702)
Library (1731)
Independent hospital (1731)
Fire-fighting company (1736)
Meetings of the U.S. Congress (1774)
First university (1779)
Public Bank (1780)
Daily Newspaper (1784)
Stock exchange (1790)
Circus (1793)
Manned air flight (1793)
Art museum and school (1805)
Carbonated water (1807)
Theater (1809)
Natural history museum (1812)
African American university (1837)
Advertising agency (1869)
Zoo (1874)
Merry-go-round (1867)
Ice cream soda (1876)
Cafeteria-style restaurant (1902)
Funeral home (built as such) (1905)
Thanksgiving Day parade (1919)
Totally air conditioned building (1932)
Cheesesteak (1932)
Girl Scout cookie sale (1932)
Fully electronic computer invented (1946)
Slinky (1948)
Polio vaccine (1960)

Not to mention (though I’m mentioning them anyway): the first U.S. Mint, the first department store, the first botanical garden, the first opera… Continue reading →

Posted in Baby boomer travel, Cities, cultural travel, Family travel, Quizzes, Restaurants | Tagged cheesesteaks, City Tavern, historic firsts, Independence Hall, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Philadelphia tourism, W.C. Fields | Leave a comment

When Funding Lags, Philly Marketer Turns to New Media

Published January 7, 2014 | By Clark Norton

Philadelphia’s Old City neighborhood beckons tourists from around the world. Photo by J Fusco for Visit Philadelphia.

What do you do if you’re in charge of marketing a city destination and you lose most of your state funding?

If you’re Meryl Levitz, president and CEO of Visit Philadelphia — the official destination marketing organization for the city and five regional counties — you get creative.

Levitz, who has headed up Visit Philadelphia (known as the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation until November 2013) since the mid-1990s, told the travel site Skift.com that her biggest challenge was funding, with Pennsylvania state cutbacks resulting in a one-third cutback in her budgets for the past three years. State funding for Visit Philadelphia has dropped from $4 or $5 million a year to zero, though this year they’re getting a special $850,000 grant from the state to promote countryside towns in the area.… Continue reading →

Posted in Baby boomer travel, Cities, Marketing | Tagged baby boomer marketing strategies, baby boomer travel, baby boomers, destination marketing organizations, marketing baby boomer travel, Philadelphia tourism, travel marketing, Visit Philadelphia | Leave a comment

According to government and private surveys:

Leading-edge baby boomers (born between 1946 and 1955) and seniors account for four out of every five dollars spent on luxury travel today.
Roughly half the consumer spending money in the U.S.--more than $2 trillion--is in the hands of leading-edge baby boomers and seniors.
Baby boomers (born 1946-1964) travel more than any other age group.
When asked what they would most like to spend their money on, baby boomers answered “travel” more than any other category, including improving their health or finances.