Philly tourism got a boost over the summer

Between Memorial Day weekend and Labor Day, over 1.6 million nights in hotel rooms were booked in Center City, according to new data from the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau (PHLCVB), an 8.2% increase over last year. That was driven in part by international visitors and several distinct events that drew large crowds to Philadelphia for science, religion, soccer, and wrestling.

“We couldn’t be more ecstatic,” said Gregg Caren, president and CEO at PHLCVB. His organization exists to boost visits to Philadelphia for tourism, large meetings, and other events.

The city’s tourism industry benefited from a two-week period this summer during which several large events happened in quick succession.

In late July, the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference brought over 12,000 visitors from more than 100 countries to Philadelphia. The Wells Fargo Center welcomed over 3,000 delegates of the Convention of Jehovah’s Witnesses from almost 30 countries. And Lincoln Financial Field, which has capacity for over 67,000, hosted a sold-out Liverpool-Arsenal soccer match from the English Premiere League on July 31.

“When we have a perfect storm like this past summer,” Caren said, “it just helps really put the icing on the cake of the net impacts of what we do.”

Other factors that contributed to Philadelphia’s tourism boost were WrestleMania 40 in April which brought in over 145,000 fans to the Linc over two nights, and the expansion of American Airlines destinations out of Philadelphia International Airport with new flights to Nice, Copenhagen, and Naples.

While PHLCVB aims to attract events by leveraging large spaces such as the Pennsylvania Convention Center, the South Philly stadium complex, and hotels, the impact of those events trickles down to other businesses in the city, says Caren.

“Every business in Philadelphia should and does experience a lift in their revenue when we have these events in the city,” he said.

That can be felt at “the 80 independent vendors at Reading Terminal Market, or a small souvenir shop in Old City, or one of the great, hip shops on South Street,” said Caren.

The amount of money spent by international visitors in Philadelphia is also up 27% compared to last year, according to PHLCVB, in part due to longer stays.

“When we as Philadelphians, or we as Americans, go vacationing elsewhere, we are more likely to spend there and maybe even spend on things we wouldn’t spend on at home,” he said. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience, perhaps, that somebody’s traveling here.”

Over the last 25 years, Philadelphia has hosted major events including the 2017 NFL draft, the 2015 papal visit, and national conventions for both the Democratic and the Republican parties, said Caren. More events are also on the way in the coming years.

“For years Philadelphia and Philadelphians themselves would sort of speak about themselves as sort of the redheaded stepchild between New York and Washington, D.C, and use words like ‘punching above our weight class’” said Caren. “We’re long past being the redheaded stepchild. We are a world-class city, and when you think about the success that we’ve had in hosting these past events, every success begets future success.”

In 2026, Philadelphia is set to commemorate America’s 250th birthday as well as host the MLB All-Star Game, the NCAA men’s basketball games, and FIFA World Cup games.

Bringing large-scale events to the city can take years of planning. PHLCVB was considering the request for proposals to host the World Cup games some nine years ahead of time, and it took a couple of years to get the bid together, according to Caren.

Before the hallmark year arrives, the bureau is still working toward its goal of bringing in between 250 and 260 individual events of all sizes to the city for next year.

“2026 will be an amazing year no matter what, but we can’t allow it to be a spike. It needs to be sort of a new plateau for us moving forward into the future,” said Caren.