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Michael A. Nutter, Mayor of Philadelphia came to New York leading his team of convention and meetings executives to promote the city by hosting a Philadelphia Luncheon at the 21 Club in midtown Manhattan. “Discover & Rediscover Philadelphia” as the theme of the event, which was sponsored by the Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau and attended by the Meetings & Travel media as well as association, corporate and other meeting planners.

The main objective of the “Discover & Rediscover” event was to highlight the extraordinary initiatives undertaken to position Philadelphia as a destination that is accessible, affordable and features a state-of-the-art convention center, an expanding abundance of lodging and thriving dining & entertainment districts. In addition, he addressed concerns that an economic downturn would impede the Philadelphia’s progress.

“We are committed to the hospitality industry,” said the Mayor, who noted that the city’s hospitality industry was inspired by the winning strategy adopted by the Philadelphia Phillies, the 2008 World Series Champions, “They were up and down all season, but three weeks before the playoffs, they stayed focus.”

Mayor Nutter amusingly amended the familiar Philadelphia tagline by saying, “we’re the city of Brotherly Love… and Sisterly Affection.” What was apparent in his remarks is that this popular city leader is an enthusiastic champion of the hospitality industry in general and conventions, meetings and trade shows in particular. Mayor Nutter, who won his current office in 2007 with a record landside of 86 percent of the vote, has long been a proponent of developing Philadelphia as a competitive Northeast Destination and has had hands-on involvement with the city’s CVB activities during his tenure as Councilman. From 2003 to 2007, Nutter served as Chairman of the Pennsylvania Convention Center Authority Board, where he was instrumental in bringing about the Center’s current $700-million expansion project. Due to open in 2011, the expansion will result in one million square feet of saleable space, the largest contiguous exhibit space in the Northeast at 700,000 square feet; and the largest convention center ballroom on the East Coast at 60,000 square feet.

Tom Muldoon, President of the Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau, introduced the Mayor. Muldoon pointed out that the recent meetings & convention track record has strengthened the city’s position as a destination—Philadelphia reached an all-time high of 550,000 international visitors in 2007, the highest increase of major cities in the nation at 27 percent, said Muldoon. At the end of fiscal year 2008, the bureau had booked 768,000 room nights, 533,000 related to the Pennsylvania Convention Center. Muldoon also emphasized that the hotel inventory of Philadelphia was robust—16,000 rooms in the Philadelphia area, including more than 10,000 rooms in Center City– 7,800 of which are within walking distance of the Pennsylvania Convention Center, 3,600 within a block of the venue. An additional 2,500 rooms are expected to open in conjunction with the completion of the convention center’s expansion project.

Ahmeenah Young, President and CEO of the Pennsylvania Convention Center Authority, also spoke at the event, echoing the new vigor and combined efforts of the city’s determination to enhance its competitiveness as a destination. “We want your business. We are working to get your business.”

When asked by Facilitiesonline how the economic slowdown has been affecting bookings, she said that while the feedback from existing and prospective clients is still being disseminated, a more pro-active attitude is certain to prevail among convention centers. “What we are prepared for is that we have to work more closely with clients, because they are dealing with their own issues related to economy, as we all are and everyone knows it. That could mean more discounts, or it could mean other things. So, there is more discussion taking place, more give and take, more partnering with the meeting planners than ever before.” 

Mayor Nutter highlighted that a key factor in the growing meeting planner interest in the city is Philadelphia’s proximity to both Washington D.C. and New York City. “We’re strategically situated halfway between the country’s seat of government and the seat of finance.”

But as with everybody on both the venue and the planning sides of the industry, the economy remains a troublesome concern. In the short term at least, Philadelphia appears to have the funds to continue the convention center expansion, the growth in hospitality industry infrastructure and promotion of the city as a meetings destination. In speaking with Facilitiesonline after the luncheon, Mayor Nutter pointed out that the state government recently enacted a hotel tax, proceeds from which will be dedicated to marketing the tourism industry and to the expansion of the convention center. He dismissed the notion that a slight increase in the cost of lodging would prove to be a disincentive in the current economic climate. “Even with the tax, we beat the pants off the competition in bringing in meetings,” he told Facilitiesonline.com. “With our increase in hotel space, and the fact that we have so many rooms within walking distance of the convention center, the cost per meeting attendee is still very competitive. We are about 60 percent of the overall costs of other destinations.”