The new website brings the vibrancy of Philadelphia to life through striking full-screen photography, extensive content and fresh branding, and is designed to meet the demands of key Philadelphia travel audiences, including international visitors, convention attendees and meeting planners.
The Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau (PHLCVB) announced the launch of the destination’s official convention and international visitor website, discoverPHL.com. The new website brings the vibrancy of Philadelphia to life through striking full-screen photography, extensive content and fresh branding, and is designed to meet the demands of key Philadelphia travel audiences, including international visitors, convention attendees and meeting planners.
In addition to the new website, the PHLCVB also recently launched a mobile application on the iOS platform.
“We are always excited and eager to tell Philadelphia’s story to the world and discoverPHL.com does just that,” says Philadelphia Mayor Michael A. Nutter. “Philadelphia is ranked 12th in terms of international visitation to the U.S. and the launch of these new online tools is just one of the things that we’re doing to attract even more international visitors to our modern renaissance city.”
“We have taken every measure to ensure that this new website and the supporting products are robust and accessible to all our audiences,” says PHLCVB president and CEO Jack Ferguson. “Whether we are serving meeting planners considering Philadelphia for a conference or welcoming convention attendees and visitors from other countries, our websites will serve as a starting point for inspiring people to discover Philadelphia.”
Some of the site’s new features include:
- Meeting and Convention Resources: A meeting section offering tools for meeting planners preparing events at the Pennsylvania Convention Centre, hotels and other venues.
- Booking Engine: New hotel booking engine powered by Booking.com, the world’s leading online hotel reservation agency by room nights sold. The booking engine was chosen because of its global reach and availability to consumers in 41 languages and currencies.
- Member-generated Events and Deals: PHLCVB members can now add searchable events and deals, increasing their exposure and driving traffic.
- Maps and Itineraries: Plot an itinerary, search for hotels by categories, view restaurants in particular neighbourhoods and more, via a new interactive map.
- Favourites: Create an account and map your ‘Favourites’, for example restaurants, attractions and hotels which can be saved and accessed at a later date, including from a mobile device.
MMGY Global, one of the world’s largest travel marketing firms, was engaged to build discoverPHL.com. They specialise in digital travel programmes and website development for global travel brands, including Namibia, Trump Hotel, Choice Hotels, Walt Disney Parks and several U.S. states.
DiscoverPHL.com will be supported by other travel marketing products, including the Philadelphia Official Visitors Guide, Philadelphia Professional Planners Guide, social media properties and International Guides. The PHLCVB also maintains translated web content in 11 languages and international visitors guides in five languages (French, German, Spanish, Portuguese and Simplified Chinese).
The launch of PHLCVB’s new website and supporting tools is intended to position the City as a global destination for meetings and conventions, international visitors, group travel or prospective students seeking world-class educational institutions.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
