Philadelphia and the Countryside - Press Room

gophila.com and uwishunu.com are the go-to-sites for Philadelphia locals and visitors looking to get festive in Philadelphia and The Countryside® this holiday season. Beginning November 20, the official visitor site for Greater Philadelphia, gophila.com will offer loads of holiday content, including e-postcards, top five lists, Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day parade details, the scoop on New Year’s Eve fireworks and more. Philly’s insider blog uwishunu.com will provide up-to-the minute coverage of holiday happenings as they come in, including special meals, events and hotel deals.

Here’s what holiday revelers will find at gophila.com:

• Holiday e-postcards: Five With Love, Philadelphia XOXO™

It’s free! It’s new! It’s all about me (Philadelphia)! The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) today proudly debuted the second edition of the Official Philly Brag Book, filled with just 200 of the countless facts about the region that make Philadelphians so darn proud. For this project, GPTMC teamed up with the City of Philadelphia and CBS 3/The CW Philly, which will broadcast some of the fun facts on CBS 3’s Talk Philly program and The CW Philly’s Eyewitness News This Morning. GPTMC will distribute the book to concierge staff and select visiting groups and insert it into Philadelphia

gophila.com/phillies and uwishunu.com are the go-to-sites for Philadelphia locals and visitors “phired” up to see the Phillies defend their World Series title against the New York Yankees. The official visitor site for Greater Philadelphia, gophila.com/phillies offers visitors and locals loads of Phillies-related content, including places to watch the game, the Citizens Bank Park lowdown, a photo slideshow, tips for fans from New York and more. Philly’s insider blog uwishunu.com, on the other hand, provides fans with up-to-the-minute coverage on Phillies happenings as they come in, including pep rallies, special promotions across town, relevant newspaper articles and photos and videos

WHAT: The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) is hosting a Phillies fan party in New York City during game one of the World Series—a match-up between Philadelphia and New York. The tourism office and Shorty’s, an authentic Philly cheesesteak restaurant/bar in Hell’s Kitchen (in Manhattan), are co-hosting a With Love, Philadelphia XOXO™ party for Phillies fans looking for home-field advantage in New York City.

Four hours before game time, the With Love World Series party begins with free Shorty-sized cheesesteaks for all fans in the restaurant until game time. As soon as the national anthem is sung, all attention

The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) recently launched phase two of Philly 360°™, a marketing campaign designed to expand the region’s visitor base by attracting a new group of African-American travelers who are young, affluent, technologically savvy and driven to a destination based on its contemporary cultural offerings, vibrant nightlife and overall buzz factor.

The fall phase of the project focuses on Philadelphia-born artist Barkley L. Hendricks’ Birth of the Cool retrospective at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) from October 17 to January 3 and shines a spotlight on the region’s thriving independent boutique scene. In

Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) recently launched the newest component of its With Love, Philadelphia XOXO™ campaign, and it’s got heart: an online postcard generator enabling Philly locals, visitors and fans to send one of eight postcards to friends and family with a personalized message. Those who send a postcard from gophila.com/withlove are automatically entered to win a $100 Stephen Starr or Jose Garces restaurant giftcard. In the first weekend alone, more than 1,000 people penned a message—sending out postcards featuring the Philly Phanatic, Philadelphia skyline, Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell and more.

Not only can visitors to gophila.com/withlove

• The second largest city on the East Coast, Philadelphia is the sixth largest city in the United States, with a population of 1.4 million in Philadelphia and 3.9 million people residing in the five-county region.
• Thanks to founder William Penn, Philadelphia’s Center City follows an easy-to-navigate grid street design. The best ways to get around Center City are by foot, taxi or public transportation. The city’s lush and historic countryside is home to many areas of interest, including Valley Forge National Historical Park, Longwood Gardens, the Brandywine River Museum, the King of Prussia Mall, Chaddsford Winery and more. The farthest

Does Chef Jose Garces indulge in scrapple? Has DJ/producer Diplo run the Rocky steps? Readers of uwishunu.com will find out the answers to these and many other questions when they read the “With Love Letters” series on uwishunu.com. In the posts, the “personality” of the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation’s With Love, Philadelphia XOXO™ campaign interviews noteworthy Philadelphians in order to learn more about their relationship with the city and why they love it here.

First up is chef and restaurateur Jose Garces, who dishes on dollar dog days at Citizens Bank Park, shopping at Reading Terminal Market and

Who says you can’t buy love? The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing (GPTMC) today announced the launch of gophila.com/shop, where people can purchase T-shirts, banners, notepads, sneakers, tote bags and more, all branded with the popular With Love, Philadelphia XOXO™ logo. Since the launch of the tourism marketing campaign in May 2009, consumers, organizations, shops, restaurants and hotels have been asking GPTMC where they can obtain their own With Love, Philadelphia XOXO™ items to support the new tourism initiative and, by extension, their city. GPTMC answers the demand—and extends the campaign—with gophila.com/shop.

“Philadelphians are proud of their home and

Calling all military personnel. Philadelphia, the city where the U.S. Army, Navy and Marines were all founded, invites the military and their families to have some fun in America’s birthplace while taking advantage of tours and special offers available to them, now through Veterans Day. The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation’s (GPTMC) Web site, gophila.com/history is loaded with special offers and themed itineraries dedicated to military visiting Historic Philadelphia. The site highlights places of historic interest to the armed forces and features information about hundreds of dollars in savings available to them. Best of all, Philadelphia is within a five-hour

This summer, as part of the new With Love, Philadelphia XOXO™ marketing campaign, the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) is asking 5,000 Philadelphians to send postcards to friends and family all over the country inviting them to visit Philadelphia and stay over in a hotel.

Philadelphians can write their messages on pre-stamped postcards at a series of postcard-writing booths throughout Philadelphia in June and July. Locations include Sunoco Welcome America’s Party on the Parkway, at Citizens Bank Park and at Suburban Station.* The booths will be adorned with With Love, Philadelphia XOXO™ letters, and postcard writers may receive

This is a CBS 3/The CW Philly press release.

Staying close to home this summer? There will be no shortage of ideas for fun things to do thanks to a new partnership between sister stations CBS 3/The CW Philly 57 and the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation. The stations and GPTMC are teaming up to promote the limitless options the Philadelphia area provides for summer tourists whether they live here or not.

Can’t get to Paris? Visit one of the world’s largest collections of Impressionist and post-Impressionist art outside of Paris at the Barnes Foundation Museum. Bored children around the

The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) announced today that Julie Coker will join its Board of Directors, effective immediately. Coker is currently the general manager at the Hyatt Regency Philadelphia at Penn’s Landing, the only city hotel located in the revitalized waterfront area. She occupies one of two GPTMC board seats dedicated to Philadelphia’s hotel industry.

“Julie Coker understands the vital importance of the tourism industry in Philadelphia, and she brings 20 years of valuable hospitality experience to GPTMC’s board,” said Manuel N. Stamatakis, chairman, GPTMC Board of Directors. “We look forward to putting her expertise to good use.”

The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) will debut PHILLY 360°™, The Book—the newest component of its African-American tourism marketing campaign—at The Roots Picnic on June 6, 2009. The limited-edition, hard-bound book features interviews with some of Philadelphia’s most prominent African-American tastemakers and trendsetters, including The Roots, King Britt and Ethel Cee, and details what these creative ambassadors love most about the city. All of the people featured in the book are part of GPTMC’s Philly 360°™ Coalition, a group of 50 of the city’s African-American thought leaders, cultural entrepreneurs, marketers and other stakeholders committed to promoting a 360°

Today the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) released its Tourism 2009 Report to the Region. The 36-page publication provides a comprehensive snapshot of the region’s leisure tourism industry and takes a look at opportunities and challenges the region faces as a result of the current economy. The annual report also includes visitor volume numbers for 2008 and addresses how tourism impacted the local and regional economy last year. Distribution of the report, themed “The Big Picture” and available for free on gophila.com/tourismreport, coincides with National Tourism and Travel Week, taking place May 9-17, 2009.

Here’s a look at

CAMPAIGN NAME: With Love, Philadelphia XOXO™

CAMPAIGN OVERVIEW: Launching May 2009, With Love, Philadelphia XOXO™ is part of GPTMC’s 2009 recessionary strategy to boost leisure visitation and overnight hotel stays in Philadelphia. It appeals to many different audiences through various letters addressed to travelers. Penned by the city itself, the letters let a bit of Philly “atty-tude” through while extending the invitation to visit.

FUNDING: In fall 2008, the mayor of Philadelphia and City Council approved a 1.2% increase in hotel tax on Philadelphia County hotel rooms to be shared among GPTMC, the Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau and the

As part of the new With Love, Philadelphia XOXO™ campaign, visitors who book one of the 80 featured packages on gophila.com/withlove will receive a special gift at check-in. The giveaway includes a Philadelphia Privileges coupon book, a Dining Guide that gives hotel guests a pass to exclusive prix-fixe menus around the city, a five-pack of With Love postcards and a With Love pin, along with other brochures, coupons and maps. Soon, it will also include the Official Philly Brag Book, featuring 200 reasons to love the Philadelphia region. And with starting rates ranging from $77 to $415 per night, gophila.com/withlove

The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) today revealed With Love, Philadelphia XOXO™, a new $1.4 million tourism marketing campaign developed in direct response to the current economic climate and designed to increase leisure visitation and hotel occupancy.

In total this summer, GPTMC will spend $2.5 million to woo leisure visitors here. GPTMC’s tourism marketing repertoire features With Love, Philadelphia XOXO™, which includes promotion of Historic Philadelphia; the Galileo, the Medici and the Age of Astronomy exhibition at The Franklin Institute Science Museum; Philly Overnight®; Philadelphia – Get Your History Straight and Your Nightlife Gay®; and efforts with the Canadian

The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) has launched a contest as part of the Philadelphia – Get Your History Straight and Your Nightlife Gay® tourism marketing campaign. Entrants can sign up to win “Philly’s Ultimate Gay Stay,” including a trip to the city and dining, shopping and pampering at some of the city’s gay-friendly businesses, at gophila.com/gayphilly.

Online banner ads promoting the contest will run nationwide on logoonline.com and outtraveler.com, while a print ad will run in Passport Magazine. In addition, targeted outreach at out-of-market events and businesses in cities such as Chicago, Denver, Palm Springs and Columbus

The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) is proud to announce the renewal of three partnerships to support its groundbreaking gay and lesbian marketing campaign, Philadelphia – Get Your History Straight and Your Nightlife Gay®. Southwest Airlines has teamed up with GPTMC for the second year, while R Family Vacations and Mariah Hanson’s The Dinah Weekend are working with GPTMC for the third year. All three partnerships employ innovative and collaborative marketing programs, including cross-promotional advertising, e-mail outreach, social media and targeted public relations. Here’s a look at how GPTMC is working to get the gay-friendly Philly message out:

• Southwest