New Report: Here’s How Much Tourism Impacted Philly Last Year

Eds, meds, and…tourism. That basically sums up Philly’s 21st century economy. But how many tourists really show up? How much do they bring in? And who are they all? Well, the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation has answers, courtesy of its annual report.

• Since 1997, Philly’s experienced a 45% growth in visitation. 38 million American tourists showed up last year, 12 million more than in ’97.
• 89,000 regional jobs are supported by tourist dollars.
• 7 new hotels are currently being built.
• $410 in annual taxes are saved by region households thanks to tourist dollars.

And here’s the profile of Mr. Average Philadelphia tourist: He’s 44, married, makes $85,000 a year and isn’t bringing the kids for the weekend. Why the growth in tourism? Well, just check out this unintentionally (I think) hilarious infographic the report has prepared for us: