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— Photo by J. Fusco for Visit Philadelphia
Who We Are
We’re the region’s official leisure tourism marketing agency.
What We Do
Our mission is to build Greater Philadelphia’s image, drive day and overnight visitation and boost the economy.
Plus, we increase the number of visitors who come, the frequency in which they come, the number of nights they stay and the number of things they do. These marketing efforts enhance residents’ quality of life and civic pride.
How We Do It
Everything we do — our advertising, communications, website (visitphilly.com), social media, podcast, event and attraction promotion, hotel packages, product development and even playing up Philly’s starring role in pop culture — gives Philadelphia a voice and strengthens the ever-evolving Philadelphia brand.
It’s important that people feel like they know a destination — that’s what makes them want to visit.
Here are some of the ways we achieve our mission.
The most powerful way we communicate the voice, essence and image of Philadelphia is through our official website, visitphilly.com.
The site is a strong call to action that moves people to visit and helps them find the region’s events, hotels, restaurants and attractions.
In 2024, the website had more than 10.6 million visits. That’s more than 883,000 visits per month.
VISIT PHILADELPHIA seeks website visitors because we can convert “online visits” into “real-life visitors.” Each web visit is an opportunity for VISIT PHILADELPHIA to improve that person’s impression of Philadelphia, increase their desire to visit and get them to do more things while they’re here.
And to that effect, great content is a conversion machine for Visit Philadelphia.
Driving Referrals Visitphilly.com sent 2 million clicks to our partner websites in 2024.
Leveraging the Power of Digital Word-of-Mouth Marketing
Called one of “Social Media’s Most Innovative Travel Companies” by Travel + Leisure, Visit Philadelphia takes its social standing seriously. We embraced social media as part of an integrated marketing strategy early on, breaking into the newest and most effective platforms, and we continue to refine our properties.
We now have 1.7 million followers across our accounts, which include:
Visit Philadelphia’s advertising uses creative messaging that engages our key audiences and reaches them where they’re most receptive to our invitations to visit. We rely on research to better understand our audience — and we let that data guide us towards using the right channel at the right time. We enhance our traditional media buys and search-engine marketing with social media advertising and buzz-worthy out-of-home tactics.
Our campaigns showcase Philadelphia’s robust cultural offerings — beyond the obvious — and invite travelers to come and experience the unexpected. It represents shared experiences, spotlights Philly’s rich dining scene and shows off historic icons and exhibits.
Our advertisements echo and embody Greater Philadelphia as a multidimensional, dynamic and diverse destination.
Our first-ever joint destination marketing campaign, done in conjunction with the Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau, encourages visitors to “Come for Philadelphia. Stay for Philly.” The fun, lighthearted campaign puts the city’s confidence and attitude at the forefront as it aims to drive visitation to the region across all travel segments — leisure, business and group — in 2025 and in the lead up to 2026, when the city will host major activities around America250, FIFA World Cup 26 and the MLB All-Star Game.
The campaign is a call to action for visitors to come for the Philadelphia they expect and to stay for the unexpected gems just waiting to be discovered in Philly. Philadelphia represents the destination’s credentials, and Philly shows off its under-the-radar side.
Through high-quality content, direct pitches, media events, a Visiting Journalist Program and strong relationships with journalists, our media relations team places thousands of positive stories each year about Greater Philadelphia in a blend of high-value print, television, websites and blogs. Here’s just a sampling of positive stories about travel to Philadelphia placed by us and our many, many partners recently:
In addition to the aforementioned web, social media, advertising and communications efforts, Visit Philadelphia has several other initiatives aimed at bringing even more people to the region.
Our In Pursuit of A More Perfect Union campaign offers a fresh take on how the birthplace of the nation commemorates heritage and history months. The goal: Honor the nation’s history — while also acknowledging that the Founding Fathers’ vision of America does not reflect many of the societal values held today.
We run multiple campaigns at any given time — efforts that speak directly to art lovers, urban adventurers and millennials, along with African-American, Latino, and LGBTQIA+ travelers.
For more information on these and all of Visit Philadelphia’s marketing initiatives, take a few minutes to review our full 2024 Annual Report.
— Photo by D. Knoll for Visit Philadelphia
Tourism and hospitality is one of the largest industries in the region and important to the vitality of Greater Philadelphia.
Our marketing efforts enhance the quality of life and provide a sense of pride for residents; stimulate the economy, support local businesses and create jobs.
Visitor Volume
43.9 million visitors were welcomed to Greater Philadelphia in 2024.
Zooming in, the City of Philadelphia had 26.6 million visitors in 2024. Overnight visitors to the city grew 4.0% year-over-year compared to 1.8% in the suburbs. Meanwhile, day visits to the city increased 2.0% year-over-year as day visits to the suburbs expanded 0.9%.
Visitor Spending
Visitor spending in Greater Philadelphia increased by +2.5% to a record $7.8 billion in 2024. This means that $21.3 million was spent every day by visitors in Greater Philadelphia, on average.
In the City of Philadelphia, visitor spending grew 3.2% to a record $4.5 billion in 2024. Spending by visitors to the suburban counties also reached a new high-water mark of $3.3 billion despite growing at a slower pace of 1.4%.
Visitor spending drives income across industries, including eight industries with more than $250 million in total income. Total visitor-generated income in Greater Philadelphia increased 7.8% over the prior year, as a result of solid wage growth across industries.
Economic Impact
$13.1 billion in total economic impact for Greater Philadelphia in 2024. Of the $13.1 billion in total business sales generated by visitor activity in Greater Philadelphia, the city generated approximately $7.0 billion (53% of the region) compared to $6.1 billion in suburban counties.
Tax Revenue Generator
State and city taxes generated $1.1 billion in tax revenue. Each household in Greater Philadelphia would need to be taxed an additional $660 to replace the visitor-generated state and local taxes in 2024. Also, the visitor economy would cover the average salary of 17,600 public school teachers in Greater Philadelphia.
The City of Philadelphia generated $417 million in city taxes compared to $163 million by the suburban counties. Each household in the City of Philadelphia would need to be taxed an additional $620 to replace the visitor-generated local taxes for the city and School District of Philadelphia in 2024.
Leisure visitor activity amounted to $9.6 billion in total business sales– 74% of the region. In comparison, total business sales accredited to business traveler activity totaled $3.4 billion in 2024.
Of the 3.6 million room nights consumed in Center City, the leisure segment comprised approximately 35% of all hotel nights consumed. Strong weekend occupancy at 78% in Center City indicates a destination’s strong leisure demand. In 2024, Saturday and Friday nights were the two highest occupancy nights of the week, coming in at 81% and 75% respectively.
Visit Philadelphia’s 2024 Annual Report
For more information on the importance and impact of the tourism and travel industry in Philadelphia, download Visit Philadelphia’s full 2024 Annual Report.
Visit Philadelphia’s Research
The in-house research department at Visit Philadelphia tracks visitor statistics, measures tourism’s impact on the region and provides insight and tracking for every marketing program Visit Philadelphia develops. For more information on the research that Visit Philadelphia does, visit our research page by clicking the button below.
VISIT PHILADELPHIA’S RESEARCH PAGE
— Photo by Visit Philadelphia
At Visit Philadelphia, it’s our job to invite people — and we mean ALL people — to visit our beloved hometown. When people visit Philadelphia, we at Visit Philadelphia succeed in achieving our mission to boost the economy and build our region’s image.
But to really achieve success in our mission, our work begins at home—inside the walls of Visit Philadelphia (or wherever we happen to be working from on any given day).
Visit Philadelphia maintains momentum by keeping the organization’s values, mission and vision at the forefront at all times. Our values-first mindset means that we are:
Angela Val President & CEO
Visit Philadelphia President and CEO Angela Val inspires people to visit Philadelphia because Philadelphia inspires her. She leads a diverse team of creative thinkers in building Greater Philadelphia’s image, driving visitation and boosting the economy through day and overnight leisure stays. With more than two decades of experience in tourism marketing, Val assumed the top leadership role at Visit Philadelphia in 2022 — a homecoming after her initial tenure at the organization from 1998 to 2016.
Prior to returning, Val was chief operations officer for integrated destination marketing agency Tempest, and chief administration officer for the Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau (PHLCVB). While at the PHLCVB and Tempest, she served as executive director of Ready. Set. Philly!, a post-pandemic economic revitalization initiative by the City of Philadelphia and Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce.
In 2016, Val was deputy executive director of the Philadelphia Host Committee for the Democratic National Convention. During her first stretch at Visit Philadelphia, Val rose from an executive assistant to chief external affairs officer and helped lead several of the organization’s still-celebrated campaigns and initiatives. She started her career in hospitality in hotels.
Val serves on several boards, including the PHLCVB, Philadelphia Visitors Center Corporation, Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia, Horizons Greater Philadelphia, 2026 Coalition, The Philadelphia Citizen, Philadelphia250 and the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation. She’s a member of the Mayor’s Business Roundtable, Mayor’s Clean and Green Cabinet, PA Society, Forum For Executive Women, International Women’s Forum and The WHAT.
A warm and effective leader, Val firmly believes in Philadelphia, including its unmatched ability to preserve the past while moving forward. A Drexel University graduate, she and her husband Joe reside in Philadelphia’s Point Breeze neighborhood.
To read Angela Val’s full bio, click the button below.
Won Jin An
Marketing Manager
Jasmine Armstrong
Senior Director of Hospitality & Events
Ethan Blades
Senior Director of Marketing
Trino Boix
Chief Operating Officer
Sara Bonner
Director of Accounting
Daecia Borgia
Destination Stakeholder Engagement Manager
Sheryl Brown
Executive Assistant
Jessica Calter
Senior Vice President of Advancement and External Affairs
Ashley Carter
Sr. Communications Manager
Sabrina Carter
Digital Content Manager
Jabari Cherry
Social Media Engagement Specialist
Eric Cortes
Senior Director, Social
Jada Dale
Diverse Marketing Coordinator
Hope Daluisio
Photo & Video Specialist
Daniel Davis
Director of Diverse Marketing
Gianna DiAddezio
Graphic Designer
Alex Donaruma
Marketing Project Manager
Liana Dunnell
Social Media Specialist
Jovan Ellis
Senior Digital Content Manager
Farah Farag
Senior Manager of Social Content and Strategy
Connor Fogel
Digital Web Manager
Neil Frauenglass
Chief Marketing Officer
Michael Hanisco
Senior Content Manager
Colsen Liney
IT Assistant
Tameka Love
Accounting Manager
Keith McMenamin
Vice President of IT
Cathy McVey
Senior Vice President of Strategic Integration
Sydney Milkman
Communications Coordinator
Binh Nguyen
Senior Director of Communications
Rob Rabena
Director of Video & Photography
Cindy Ray
Chief Financial Officer
Jake Rhue
Operations Specialist
Becca Richards
External Affairs Coordinator
Andora Robinson
Hotel Program Coordinator
Jenea Robinson
Vice President of Communications
Emily Scalzo
Digital Content Specialist
Sindoor Shah
Creative Director
Laura Smythe
Senior Communications Manager
Kyle Stein
Senior Marketing Project Manager
Cassie Tomkins
Senior Director of Government and Civic Affairs
Dan Wisniewski
Senior Director, Digital Content & Strategy
Andrew Zwarych
Research & Analytics Manager
Anthony J. Conti (Retired), Chair PricewaterhouseCoopers Rhonda R. Cohen, Esquire, Vice Chair Robert W. Bogle, Vice Chair The Philadelphia Tribune James Adamson Kimpton Hotel Monaco Philadelphia Reginald Archambault The Bellevue Hotel Darwin R. Beauvais, Esquire Obermayer Rebmann Maxwell & Hippel LLP Dave Burkavage EY Anthony J. Conti (Retired) PricewaterhouseCoopers Matt Dickman Comcast Corporation Jazelle Jones City of Philadelphia Kevin Murnane (Retired) DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Philadelphia Center City Leslie Richards University of Pennsylvania Anne Ryan Pennsylvania Department of Community & Economic Development James D. Schultz Scientific Games Tony Sorrentino University of Pennsylvania Carol Watson Kimpton Hotel Palomar Philadelphia Manuel N. Stamatakis, Chair Emeritus Capital Management Enterprises
— Photo by J. Fusco for Historic Philadelphia, Inc.
Visit Philadelphia was founded in 1996 as Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the City of Philadelphia and The Pew Charitable Trusts.
In 1998, House Bill 2858, Act 174 designated Visit Philadelphia, then GPTMC, to serve as the official Regional Attractions Marketing Agency.
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