Reflecting the increasing growth momentum of visitors from Asia to the U.S., the Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau (PHLCVB) opened a new office in Beijing on March 1.


The PHLCVB appointed East West Marketing Corp., a leading marketing agency, to act as the official in-country tourism representative of the City of Philadelphia and work with tour operators on creating itineraries that incorporate Philadelphia to take advantage of the great value and world-famous landmarks the city offers.

“We are thrilled to partner with East West Marketing Corp. in continuing our efforts to build awareness throughout China,” said Ja­­ck Ferguson, President and CEO of the PHLCVB. “We are on a mission to bring the world to Philadelphia. The opening of an office in Beijing will raise our profile significantly in the critical Chinese market, and builds on our existing efforts in Asia to expand our Philadelphia brand presence and solidify relationships with travel industry partners. We want to ensure Philadelphia is top of mind when planning a trip to the U.S. Together with our office in India (opened in 2013), PHLCVB now has direct presence to over 2.5 billion people in the world's fastest growing travel markets.”

“Philadelphia is easy to get to, affordable and has a lot to do,” added Brian Said, Executive Director of Tourism at PHLCVB. “And, with the governments' announcement to grant multiple-entry visas, valid for up to 10 years, for travel between China and the U.S., we expect the number of travelers to grow. This is the right time for Philadelphia to have a representation office in China to actively engage with the media and travel trade. East West Marketing Corp. has invaluable proven direct experience having represented over 10 U.S. destinations including U.S. Travel Association, Chicago, San Francisco, Houston, and Colorado, in China. We are confident that with this partnership, Philadelphia will continue to shine in China and we look forward to welcoming more visitors.”

Outbound tourism from China to the U.S. has been growing steadily. In 2013, Philadelphia welcomed 40,000 Chinese visitors who spent $122M in the city, making them the highest spending international market for the city and fourth largest international feeder market. (Source: OTTI - http://travel.trade.gov/). Recent figures released by the National Travel and Tourism Office (NTTO) in its 2014 Fall Travel Forecast suggest that the number of visitors from China to the U.S. is projected to increase 172% between 2013 and 2019, moving it to be the top three feeder market in 2019.

In addition to having an office in China, PHLCVB has also appointed Stefan Merkl as Senior International Tourism Sales Manager, based in the U.S., to coordinate all efforts to increase visitation and tourism spending to Philadelphia. Merkl is a well-known and respected leader in tourism with extensive experience having worked with receptive and tour operators that handle travel from China, Korea, Taiwan and India.

With the opening of the new office, PHLCVB now has six representation offices – China, India, Italy, France, Germany, and the UK covering 10 markets including the top five feeder markets for Philadelphia.

To find out more about PHLCVB's work in the international markets, visit www.discoverPHL.com/international.

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Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau (PHLCVB), www.discoverPHL.com, a private non-profit membership corporation, is the official Tourism Promotion Agency for the City of Philadelphia globally, and the primary sales and marketing agency for the expanded Pennsylvania Convention Center. The PHLCVB competes with its counterparts worldwide for convention and tourism business. The organization has departments dedicated to the multicultural, sports, and life sciences markets. The PHLCVB incorporates the short code PHL, an open source graphic identifier for the City of Philadelphia into the Convention & Visitors Bureau brand identity. The graphic identifier and other assets for use by public, private and non-profit organizations can be found at www.PHLpartners.com.