Philadelphia making meeting milestones

The US city of Philadelphia has reported that, in 2023, it hosted 264 events booked by the convention bureau PHLCVB. Twenty of those events were citywides that generated more than 2,000 hotel rooms on its peak night. In total, Philadelphia welcomed 550,136 attendees from these events, resulting in 563,400 hotel room nights and an economic impact of more than $380 million. The figures were published in an annual 2023 report by Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau (PHLCVB), in partnership with the Pennsylvania Convention Center Authority (PCCA). Key data points and major milestones in the report reflect the success of the tourism and hospitality industry in Philadelphia last year, the partners said. “We are thrilled to see all categories in our business continue to trend upwards, particularly as we look ahead to the next few years when many more major events are slated to be hosted in Philadelphia,” said Gregg Caren, president and CEO of the PHLCVB. “Beyond the PHLCVB, last year’s hospitality industry successes were a collective effort of our industry partners to support the more than 73,500 hospitality-related jobs in Philadelphia County.” The PHLCVB is also the official global tourism agency for the City of Philadelphia, with representation in 10 international markets. In 2023, Philadelphia saw a strong international tourism recovery with more than 1.1m visitors contributing to an economic impact of $955.9m. When looking at number of visitors to Philadelphia, the city’s top international markets included Canada (548.1K), United Kingdom (91K), India (60K), Germany (39.4K), and China (29.7K). “Last year, the Pennsylvania Convention Center hosted 144 total events and welcomed more than 860,000 attendees, all coming through our doors to network with peers, learn from colleagues, or just enjoy themselves,” said John J. McNichol, president and CEO of the PCCA. “The significant investments made to the facility in 2023 reflect our continued commitment to the mission of fostering a service-oriented culture and investing in state-of-the-art technology to enhance the customer experience.” To read the full annual report, visit discoverPHL.com. Data Source: Tourism Economics