More people visited Philadelphia in summer of 2024 than ever before, the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau has announced. Contributing to this record high are major events like WrestleMania XL, the Alzheimer’s Association’s International Congress and the Liverpool/Arsenal soccer match, as well as nonstop transatlantic routes from Philadelphia International Airport.
At the CVB’s Annual Luncheon event celebrating the Philadelphia hospitality community, bureau president and CEO Gregg Caren announced that between Memorial Day weekend (24-26 May) and Labor Day (2 September), more than 1.6m room nights were sold in Center City Philadelphia, an 8.2% increase over 2023 and the highest number ever recorded in the city, according to Tourism Economics.
The record is largely driven by the two-week period where Philadelphia welcomed: The Alzheimer’s Association International Conference with over 12,000 people from over 100 countries The Convention of Jehovah’s Witnesses at the Wells Fargo Center with over 3,000 delegates from nearly 30 countries The Liverpool/Arsenal soccer match at Lincoln Financial Field, which drew both international and domestic fans
Caren praised the over 850 hospitality professionals gathered at The Franklin Institute for “bringing the city to life” for convention attendees and international visitors. Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle L Parker added that tourism, conventions and events support over 80,000 workers in the region.
Parker commented: “Thanks to the work of the PHLCVB, Philadelphia’s profile around the world has been raised by hosting major conventions, sporting events, and international visitors.”
In addition to attracting large events, Philadelphia has also benefitted from American Airlines’ investment in PHL as a transatlantic gateway. In 2024, American debuted three nonstop seasonal routes from Philadelphia: Copenhagen, Nice and Naples. The airline recently announces that all three routes would return in 2025, alongside new seasonal routes to Milan and Edinburgh.
