Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission Report Presents the Picture

The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) recently released a report discussing the challenges in public transportation to provide access to tourist attractions in the Greater Philadelphia area. With Philadelphia being a World Heritage City and an epicenter for tourism, attracting thousands of visitors each year to attractions such as Independence Hall, the Penn Museum, and Fairmount Park, providing easy access to these tourist spots are important to help our region grow economically.

DVRPC found that 58% of the region’s economic impact of tourism occurs in the city of Philadelphia (followed by the rural counties of Bucks and Montgomery), and deficiencies in transit and trail systems, such as signage, safety, and lack of parking, contribute to the transportation challenges as well.

Social media and advancements in technology now influence the way people travel around the world, used for trip planning, booking travel, and providing travelers with more options. Travelers are increasingly using social media apps to exchange up-to-the-minute information, resources, reviews, and recommendations. This increase of technology use could help with a growth in tourism, and an increase in growth to support our local communities, by promoting attractions that highlight the unique cultural aspects of our region, catering to foreign visitors, and supporting the growth of the sharing economy to expand capacity and resources that will allow formal tourism infrastructure to then be built (e.g., built-out communities with no hotels can revise zoning codes to allow for homeowners to safely advertise their homes on Airbnb).

Pertaining to Philadelphia’s global reach, DVRPC held a roundtable with the participation of Global Philadelphia Association in the fall of 2017 to cater to foreign visitors about Independence Hall, the only UNESCO World Heritage site in the entire region. Independence Hall will be celebrating its’ 40th anniversary this year of being designated as a World Heritage Site, and the surrounding communities will continue to benefit and build from the attraction.

DVRPC also acknowledged multiple tourism stakeholders in the region, some of which are fellow members of Global Philadelphia Association. These include Citizens Diplomacy International, Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, Greater Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau, Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance, Independence Visitor Center Corporation, Philadelphia International Airport, and Visit Philadelphia.

DVRPC provides for many grant resources of funding for communities interested in pursuing tourism planning or activities, which can be found within the report. 

Read the full report here: https://www.dvrpc.org/Reports/WP19004.pdf

Article written by Kyle Purchase on behalf of Global Philadelphia Association