VISIT PHILADELPHIA® today announced an 11-week marketing campaign to help drive day and overnight visitation this spring and beyond. Dubbed “Pack Light. Plan Big. For Philly.,” the integrated effort, which runs from March 20 — the first day of spring — through Memorial Day weekend, focuses on the ease of visiting Philadelphia. It invites leisure travelers to safely reconnect with those they have missed in the last year and experience the region’s new and renovated museums, iconic history, buzzed-about restaurants and breweries, plentiful parks and public spaces, and annual events. To make these connections as easy and accessible as possible for residents and visitors, VISIT PHILADELPHIA is running two free parking and attraction ticket offers via a fresh iteration of the Visit Philly Overnight Hotel Package and the new Free Parking Saturdays initiative. The campaign is VISIT PHILADELPHIA’s largest marketing effort since COVID-19 began impacting Philadelphia in March 2020.
“Our research shows that people are ready to start traveling again,” says Jeff Guaracino, president and CEO, VISIT PHILADELPHIA. “We know that competition for travelers will be as competitive as it’s ever been. We want to make it clear to travelers that Philadelphia is an easy trip with big rewards and that our city has the variety of safe experiences they’re looking for both indoors and out.”
Travel Incentives:
VISIT PHILADELPHIA is making two limited-time offers available to incentivize trip planning and booking. In addition to free hotel parking (worth up to $135 in Center City Philadelphia), the spring/summer iteration of the popular Visit Philly Overnight Hotel Package includes buy-one-get-one-free tickets (highest ticket price is $35) at the Independence Visitor Center for 29 of Philly’s iconic museums and attractions, including The Academy of Natural Sciences, Eastern State Penitentiary, The Franklin Institute, National Constitution Center, Philadelphia Zoo and more. The package is available through September 30, 2021 and bookable at visitphilly.com/overnight.
To encourage day trips for residents and those nearby, VISIT PHILADELPHIA is offering Free Parking Saturdays. On Saturdays from March 20 through July 3, 2021 (plus a bonus day of July 4, 2021), people who buy a ticket valued at a minimum of $8 from the Independence Visitor Center for one of 29 Philadelphia attractions can park for free in the AutoPark at Independence Mall.
Advertising & Other Marketing Tactics:
The ad campaign begins its run on March 29 with digital placements on TripAdvisor, Expedia, Hotels.com, Orbitz and Travelocity, as well as TV spots locally on NBC10 and Telemundo. The ads highlight Philly’s great attractions (its iconic historical sites, top-notch museums, stunning parks and gardens), along with its ease, low-key vibe and welcoming nature — attributes that make it stand out from other major cities. Lines include: “It’s a tiny drive to a gigantic weekend,” “Every city has a park, but not every city is a park” and “The great outdoors, next to the just-as-great indoors.”
The campaign will also include robust content on visitphilly.com and Visit Philly’s social media accounts. A public relations effort will bring top writers and influencers into the city to experience and cover Philadelphia from their own perspective.
“‘Pack Light. Plan Big. For Philly.’ is a call for people to reclaim their weekends, make up for those missed celebrations and enjoy spending time with loved ones once again,” said Neil Frauenglass, chief marketing officer, VISIT PHILADELPHIA. “There’s an ease in Philly that you just don’t get in other big cities. Our campaign encourages people to come as they are, plan as much or as little as they like, and reap the rewards of reconnecting with the people they’ve missed the most in a place that will surprise and delight them in big and small ways at every turn.”
COVID-19’s Impact On Greater Philadelphia’s Travel & Tourism Industry:
The impact of COVID-19 has been devastating on Greater Philadelphia’s travel and tourism industry. In just one year, Center City hotel occupancy dropped 59.5%, from 76.3% (2019) to 30.9% (2020), and room revenue dropped from $704.3 million to $176.9 million. What’s more, visitation is expected to drop from 46 million trips in 2019 to 27-32 million trips in 2020 (final numbers will be available later this year), visitor spending to drop from $7.6 billion to $3.1-$4.2 billion and tax revenue to drop from $1.01 billion to $500-$600 million. And as of January 2021, 68,200 of Greater Philadelphia’s 185,000 leisure and hospitality industry employees (37%) were out of work. (Sources: STR, Econsult Solutions and BLS)
VISIT PHILADELPHIA® is our name and our mission. As the region’s official tourism marketing agency, we build Greater Philadelphia’s image, drive visitation and boost the economy.
On Greater Philadelphia’s official visitor website and blog, visitphilly.com and uwishunu.com, visitors can explore things to do, upcoming events, themed itineraries and hotel packages. Compelling photography and videos, interactive maps and detailed visitor information make the sites effective trip-planning tools. Along with Visit Philly social media channels, the online platforms communicate directly with consumers. Travelers can also call the Independence Visitor Center for additional information.
599 Market Street, (800) 537-7676
Note to Editors: For high-resolution photos and high-definition B-roll of Greater Philadelphia, visit the Photos & Video section of visitphilly.com/mediacenter.