About GPTMC

Who We Are

Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) is a private, non-profit organization that promotes leisure travel to Philadelphia and The Countryside®. Recognizing that leisure tourism could be an important industry for the city and region, the City of Philadelphia, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and The Pew Charitable Trusts founded GPTMC in 1996. The next year, GPTMC launched the first consumer campaign inviting people to visit the five-county region (Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties). Today, Greater Philadelphia welcomes 10 million more leisure travelers annually than it did in 1997.

For more visitor stats, annual reports and other GPTMC publications, visit the research section.

Find all the major milestones in Philadelphia’s tourism industry since the 1980s on the Tourism Timeline.

Our Mission

GPTMC makes Philadelphia and The Countryside® a premier destination through marketing and image building that increases business and promotes the region’s vitality.

What We Mean by Philadelphia

We mean Greater Philadelphia, as in Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties.

How We Market

Advertising: GPTMC touts the Philadelphia region through ads placed online, in magazines and newspapers and on billboards, television, radio and trains.

Communications: Through high-quality content, direct pitches, media events, a Visiting Journalists Program, an online pressroom and invaluable relationships, GPTMC places thousands of positive stories each year about Greater Philadelphia in key outlets. We also partner with local media to reach an even larger audience.

visitphilly.com and uwishunu.com: The region’s official visitor site (visitphilly.com) and the “what’s happening” blog (uwishunu.com) showcase Greater Philadelphia’s attractions, restaurants, history, arts and so much more.

Social Media: GPTMC’s strategic social media program shares our marketing with an increasingly Internet-savvy public. We stay in touch with thousands of Philly lovers through Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, Foodspotting, Flickr and YouTube.

Hotel Marketing: GPTMC collaborates with the regional hotel community, helping them to create themed hotel packages, boost stays during need periods and ensure great customer experiences.

Regional Partnerships: GPTMC teams up with the Independence Visitor Center Corporation and the region’s five visitor bureaus, as well as museums, attractions, hotels, transportation providers, sports teams, shops and restaurants, to spread our marketing to a greater audience, to increase cost-efficiency and to create consistent marketing messages for consumers. Check out the full list of GPTMC’s tourism and hospitality partners.

Pop Culture: Greater Philadelphia often finds itself in a national spotlight—with movies and TV shows filmed here to local chefs appearing on national cooking programs to sports teams entering post-season play. GPTMC leverages these opportunities to spread Philly love and give people new reasons to visit.

Current Campaigns

With Love, Philadelphia XOXO®
Hundreds of love letters penned by the city itself invite people—families, outdoor lovers, culture vultures, couples, sports fans, festival-goers and everyone else—to visit. Fans of the campaign find the letters everywhere, from billboards to Facebook to hotel welcome banners.

Con Cariño, Philadelphia XOXO
By adapting the love letter campaign, GPTMC reaches the Hispanic audience through traditional media, social media and partnerships with Hispanic media outlets and attractions.

Philly 360°®
Showcasing the region’s burgeoning creative scene and historic legacy, GPTMC’s African-American campaign attracts young, tech-savvy visitors.

Philly Homegrown®
This tourism campaign and consumer educational program highlights the delicious flavors of Philadelphia’s 100-mile foodshed—from Amish Country to the Atlantic Ocean.

Historic Philadelphia
America’s most historic square mile is also Philadelphia’s biggest draw. GPTMC highlights the area’s significant history, as well as its enticing restaurants, fun bars, edgy theaters and fashionable boutiques.

Philadelphia – Get Your History Straight and Your Nightlife Gay®
An early adopter of gay and lesbian marketing, GPTMC launched its groundbreaking LGBT campaign in 2003 to attract this valuable travel group.

GPTMC Leadership

Board of Directors

• Manuel N. Stamatakis, Chair
  Founder and CEO, Capital Management Enterprises
• Rhonda R. Cohen, Esquire, Vice Chair
• Robert Asher
  Co-Chairman Asher’s Chocolates
• David G. Benton
  Vice President and General Manager, The Rittenhouse Hotel
• Robert W. Bogle
  President and CEO, The Philadelphia Tribune
• Craig R. Carnaroli
  Executive Vice President, University of Pennsylvania
• Nicholas DeBenedictis
  Chairman and CEO, Aqua America, Inc.
• John H. Estey, Esquire
  Partner, Ballard Spahr LLP
• William Fitzgerald
  General Manager, DoubleTree by Hilton Philadelphia Center City
• Melanie Johnson
  City Representative, City of Philadelphia
• Honorable James F. Kenney
  Councilman-at-Large, Philadelphia City Council
• Jonathan Newman
  CEO and Chairman, Newman Wine and Spirits
• Agnes M. Ogletree
  Chief Operating Officer, Transitional Work Corporation
• Marsha R. Perelman
  Chair, Board of Trustees, The Franklin Institute
• William R. Sasso, Esquire
  Chairman, Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young, LLP
• Honorable Tom Corbett
  Governor, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
• Honorable Michael Nutter
  Mayor, City of Philadelphia
• Fred A. Shabel, Chairman Emeritus
  Vice Chairman, Comcast Spectacor
• Meryl Levitz
  President and CEO, GPTMC

Meryl Levitz
President & Chief Executive Officer

As president and CEO of GPTMC, Meryl Levitz is responsible for expanding Philadelphia’s regional tourism, worth $8.7 billion in economic impact and accounting for more than 85,000 regional jobs annually. The region welcomed 37.4 million domestic visitors in 2010, 33.1 million of whom were leisure visitors. That’s 10 million more leisure visitors than in 1997, when GPTMC first started marketing.

For Levitz, the key to building the economic engine of tourism is partnership—increasing visitor spending by bringing together groups with similar interests to develop promotional programs that reach high-yield markets. Partnerships with the hospitality community, arts and cultural institutions, restaurants and county visitor bureaus have proven to be vital to the success of the regional tourism industry.

GPTMC implements integrated marketing strategies to build image and visitation, using research, advertising, public relations and a strong online presence. Successful campaigns include: the fun and well-loved With Love, Philadelphia XOXO®; Philly’s More Fun When You Sleep Over®, the most successful post-9/11 hospitality recovery campaign in the country; the groundbreaking Philadelphia – Get Your History Straight And Your Nightlife Gay®; and Philly 360°® for younger, tech-savvy African-American travelers.

Levitz is active on the U.S. Travel Association’s Board of Directors, Policy Council and the newly formed Leisure Council. She also serves on the Philadelphia International Airport Advisory Board, on the Mayor’s Cultural Advisory Council and on the boards of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, Independence Visitor Center, Governor’s Pennsylvania Travel and Tourism Partnership and Historic Philadelphia, Inc.

After receiving Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the University of Illinois, Levitz began her career as an educator but soon began promoting Philadelphia, first as co-founder of the Center City Proprietors Association in 1978 and later at the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau, where she rose to vice president of tourism. There, she oversaw the opening of the Pennsylvania Convention Center and presided over the development of new celebrations—Jambalaya Jam, River Blues, Yo! Philadelphia and others—to draw crowds to the Great Plaza at Penn’s Landing.

Check out more GPTMC executive bios.

Research and Publications

Find GPTMC reports, visitor and hotel stats and other publications here.

FAQ

Find general information about visitphilly.com and Philadelphia, including how to list events or attractions on the site, here.

Contact Us

Find contact information, including our mailing address, telephone number and an inquiry form.

Review job openings at GPTMC.

Stay in touch with Philadelphia all the time on social media.

About This Site

Intellectual Property

This website is published by the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation, 30 South 17th Street, Suite 2010, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103 USA. Unless otherwise noted, GPTMC owns the copyright in all content contained in this website. © 2012 Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation. All rights reserved.

• Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation
• GPTMC
• Visit Philly
• With Love, Philadelphia XOXO®
• Philly’s More®
• Philly’s More Fun®
• Philly’s More Fun When You Sleep Over®
• Philly Overnight®
• Philadelphia and The Countryside®
• Philadelphia and Its Countryside Loves You Back®.
• Philly 360°®
• Philly Te Ama!®
• Philly Homegrown®
• Philly Nuestra Cosecha®
• Nuestra Historia Es Tu Historia®
• Philadelphia – Get Your History Straight And Your Nightlife Gay®
• SoundAboutPhilly®
• Forever Independent®
• uwishunu®
• Philly. From The Inside Out.®
• Philly Like a Local®
• Boundless Philadelphia®
• Philly – You Just Can’t Do It In A Day®
• CultureFiles®
• Philly’s Got Benergy!®
• IllaDates®
• Liberty Bell design for Forever Independent

• The associated domain names, logos and designs are service marks owned by GPTMC

Except to the extent provided in the “click” license on the website’s photo pages, nothing contained in this website confers (or should be construed to confer) by implication, estoppel or otherwise any license or right under any copyright, trademark or other proprietary right owned or licensed by GPTMC. All trademarks, service marks, logos and slogans contained herein other than those listed above are the property of their respective owners and are used by GPTMC pursuant to a license.

GPTMC Website Intellectual Property Notice

Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (“GPTMC”) owns and operates Visitphilly.com as well as other associated websites (Visitphilly.com and other owned websites collectively referred to as “GPTMC Sites”). Unless otherwise noted, GPTMC owns the intellectual property rights in the content on the GPTMC Sites, including but not limited to, trademarks, service marks, trade names, and copyrighted content. Some of the content on the GPTMC Sites may belong to third parties, and therefore GPTMC uses such content by permission.

No content from any GPTMC Sites can be used without first getting express written permission from GPTMC. This includes making copies, republishing, posting, modifying, editing, transmitting, distributing, framing, or using to create derivative works. Please contact Veronica Wentz at veronica@gptmc.com to discuss obtaining permission from GPTMC. GPTMC reserves the right to decline permission to use any content from GPTMC Sites for any reason.

Any permission granted to you to use content from GPTMC Sites does not convey to you any right, title, or interest in the same content.

If GPTMC becomes aware that you are using content from GPTMC Sites without permission, GPTMC reserves the right to pursue all legal remedies available to it.