Philly’s Tourism on Record-Setting Pace
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In the first six months of 2015, Philadelphia’s tourism industry has been on a record-setting pace. And with the World Meeting of Families scheduled for September, there’s a good chance that this year could be historic for the industry.
Visit Philadelphia has released a new report saying that Center City Philadelphia hotels have had occupancy rates of 76.2 percent in the first half of 2015 — compared to 75.2 percent in 2014. All three major market segments (leisure, group, commercial) increased in the first half of the year.
Leisure tourism saw the most significant gains. From January through June, hotels sold 416,000 room nights to leisure travelers — up 3.8 percent from the first half of record-setting 2014.
Meryl Levitz, president and CEO of Visit Philadelphia said the 2015 results prove that leisure travelers “come here all year long,” and that “Philadelphia has become a destination.”
Meanwhile, average daily rates for the three major segments are up too. Commercial rates increased 9 percent to $197 over the same time last year; group rates increased 5.5 percent to $186; and leisure rates increased 5 percent to $172.
See the following table for more:
