Philly’s New Slogan Hopes to Create Long-Term Economic Solution
The Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, and other partners are all pushing a new slogan for the city: “P-H-L: Here for the Making,” which has been designed not only to push push tourism, but conventions and business opportunities.
VisitPhilly.com, the city’s official visitor site, reports that its travel economy generates a whopping $27 million in economic impact every day, which resulted in $9.75 billion for the year in 2012. The tourism industry supported 88,761 regional jobs that year, with a $2.94 billion paycheck.
The slogan’s goal goes beyond an attempt to draw new money to the city, though. According to the chamber’s CEO and president, Rob Wunderling, 42% of the leads for companies that are considering a move to the Philadelphia region come from individual Philadelphians residing there.
“We really believe that the citizens in the greater Philadelphia region want to make something happen here,” says Wunderling. “They want to make it here. It can be made here.”
Bringing tourism into the city will not only help stimulate its economy, but could also potentially foster population growth. According to census the data, the amount of Americans who live in urban areas increased from 79% to 80.7% during the last decade, while rural areas conversely saw a decline.
“The combination of affordable urban living, a great public transportation system and an improving business climate make Philadelphia a great place to live and work,” explains Chirag Patel, Marketing Director of Post Brothers Apartments. “The rebranding won’t hurt, but the best way to fall for the City of Brotherly Love is to move here.”
A recent study could illustrate how city residents perceive their surroundings in such a way that it encourages them to stay put. It found that although residents of more densely populated areas perceived that they were at a higher risk of being victims of a crime, they were conversely unafraid of it. This fear of crime is one of the biggest detractors to city life for many people. As it wanes, more people will stay, creating the long-term economic solution that the new slogan hopes to create.
“For a city to not only survive but thrive, you need the convention market, you need the business/group market and you need the leisure market,” says Meryl Levitz of the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation. “And so all of these things can pull together.”
http://www.psmag.com/culture/big-move-big-city-may-last-71652/
