Tourism Update

PCVB Features New Shopping Promotion on TaxFreePhilly.com

The PCVB is partnering with Philadelphia Premium Outlets to promote the Philadelphia region as an international shopping destination with a “Designer of a Deal” shopping spree promotion on www.taxfreephilly.com/scoop. The winner of the sweepstakes will get a $500 gift certificate good at any of the shops at Philadelphia Premium Outlets, plus round-trip transportation from Center City Philadelphia to the outlets. In addition to the shopping promotion, www.taxfreephilly.com offers translated shopping information, suggestions for a three-day shopping itinerary, sample price comparisons between Philadelphia and other countries, and a list of international operators that offer shopping packages in six languages.

Les Secrets de Philadelphie!

Trés bon! Facebook users in France can now keep up with Philadelphia’s latest store openings, new museum exhibits, restaurant news, and more on the PCVB’s new French Facebook page, which can be accessed through the PCVB’s French-language web site, www.PhiladelphiaUSA.travel/fr. More than 500 visitors have already “friended” the page.

The PCVB, in conjunction with Interface Tourism, Pennsylvania’s representation company in France, is promoting the site through online outlets such as tripadvisor.fr and twitter.com/voyageurs, and working with bloggers. The PCVB plans to launch similar in-country Facebook pages in The Netherlands and Germany this summer.

ABA Marketplace 2011 Update

Registration packets with pre-and-post Marketplace FAMS (familiarization tours) and sightseeing tours are being mailed this month to 4,000 members of the American Bus Association (ABA). The PCVB worked with the ABA FAM and Sightseeing Committee and PCVB member businesses and organizations, to produce the brochures. The four-hour tours, which take place on January 8 during the ABA Marketplace 2011 in Philadelphia, are themed and include sports, history, culture, off-the-beaten-path attractions, multicultural Philadelphia, shopping, museums, gardens, experiential tours and more. The FAM and sightseeing brochures can be viewed at www.buses.org.