THE PHILADELPHIA Convention and Visitors Bureau has doubled its UKmarketing spend to boost the destination’s number of British visitors.
It has secured $100,000 for UK marketing and is pushing the destination as a short break and an add-on to New York which is only an hour away.
Of the 379,000 visitors to Pennsylvania in 1998, 62,000 came from the UK, the majority visiting Philadelphia. The convention bureau wants to increase its UK figure to 125,000 over the next three years.
The increase in marketing budget compares to $50,000 in 1999, while in 1998 the bureau received only $10,000.
Bureau director of membership and communications services, Susan Schwenderman said: “We’re trying to take advantage of the increase in marketing spend by putting Philadelphia on the map.”
She said Philadelphia is now more accessible and is served by four scheduled flights from the UKeach day, two with US Airways from Gatwick and two from Heathrow with British Airways. The service will increase when USAirways introduces a daily flight from Manchester.
A team from the bureau is currently in the UK to speak to operators who already sell the US destination. They also want to meet other operators to try to persuade them to include it next year.
Schwenderman said she wants to increase the number of tour operators selling long stays in the destination from 35 to 40 for 2001 and to increase the number of operators selling city breaks from 12 to 15 next year.
Several hotel projects are due to open in 2000 and the historical and waterfront districts are due for major refurbishment.