2007 boom in foreign visitors for Philadelphia
Driving the record was the exchange rate and added US Airways overseas flights.
With the weak U.S. dollar, and a targeted marketing campaign, Philadelphia saw a boom in international visitors in 2007, and the trend is continuing this year, convention officials say.
The U.S. Commerce Department said Philadelphia had a record-breaking 550,000 international visitors in 2007, compared to 434,000 the year before. The Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau, which today will release its annual report and business plan, said the increase in foreign tourists was also seen through May, based on airport passenger surveys and tracking of ATM transactions from foreign-issued bank cards.
"If domestic tourism takes a downturn, the surge in international visitors would be a good replacement source," said Fritz Smith, the bureau's vice president of tourism.
The bulk of the international travelers are from Western Europe, where the visitors bureau has had a marketing campaign, in the United Kingdom, France and Germany.
"The exchange rate is really driving the situation," Smith said. "With the U.K. pound being 2-1 to the dollar, the euro being about 1.7 to the dollar, and the yen at one of its all-time lowest rates to the dollar, this is the perfect time to market overseas."
US Airways, Philadelphia's largest airline, also added international routes last year to Philadelphia International Airport. According to the Commerce Department, Philadelphia had a 38 percent increase in foreign visitors the first three months of 2008, compared to the same period last year.
About 8 percent of all Philadelphia visitors are international travelers, convention officials said.
Meanwhile, Philadelphia's convention and leisure-tourism business may be starting to feel the impact of the economy and gas prices.
Traditionally, when the economy slows and gas prices surge, tourism softens.
Convention officials said bookings of large conventions have remained stable, "but we are working harder to get them," said Jack Ferguson, the visitors bureau's executive vice president of conventions. Longer-term conventions booked several years in advance are doing well. "There's high interest in the expansion of the convention center," he said.
It's the meetings for 2008 and next year that are "booking later. Corporate meeting planners are being very conservative, with the price of fuel," Ferguson said. "They are saying, 'Hold off, and I'll look at it in September or October.' "
Leisure-tourism numbers are panning out "about the same as in past years," said Smith, the tourism vice president. "We're not seeing a huge drop-off at this point. The hotels are very concerned and staying in touch with us on a constant basis. But they are not seeing a huge drop-off."
Hotel occupancy through May was strong - up 5.4 percent, said Bill Fitzgerald, general manager at Doubletree in Center City and president of the Greater Philadelphia Hotel Association. "June took a tweak downward, and so has July. We expect August to have a similar downward trend." That drop, he said, is across the board in leisure, convention and business travelers.