Research and Publications

The in-house research department at VISIT PHILADELPHIA^® tracks visitor statistics, measures tourism’s impact on the region and provides insight and tracking for every marketing program VISIT PHILADELPHIA develops.

To learn more about VISIT PHILADELPHIA^® research and reports, or to discuss what information may be relevant to your organization and its needs, please contact Andrew Zwarych, Research and Analytics Manager at [email protected].

Research Reports

2023 Tourism Outlook

• 2023 Outlook for the Economy and the Philadelphia Travel Industry

Research & Marketing Updates

• March 2024: Leisure Tourism & Marketing Update
• June 2023: Welcoming Diverse Travelers to Philadelphia
• May 2023: Q1 2023 Brand Tracker and New Marketing Campaign
• November 2022: Philadelphia Image Perception Study and Q4 2022 Marketing Overview

Regional Visitation & Economic Impact

• 2021 Projections for Greater Philadelphia Visitation & COVID-19 Impact
• 2020 Projections for Greater Philadelphia Visitation & COVID-19 Impact
• 2019 Greater Philadelphia Visitation & Economic Impact of Tourism Full Report
• 2018 Greater Philadelphia Visitation & Economic Impact of Tourism Full Report

COVID-19 and Travel Sentiment

COVID-19 Resource Library
COVID-19 Resource Library – Travel and Tourism Research Association
A collection of free data sources all related to the impact of COVID-19 on the travel industry.

• View COVID-19 Resource Library

National

National COVID-19 and Traveler Sentiment Survey – Longwoods International
A biweekly tracking survey of U.S. travelers’ intentions as the COVID-19 pandemic progresses. Conducted using a national sample of 1,000 adults ages 18+.

• Wave 82 as of February 22nd, 2024

  According to the latest Longwoods International tracking study of American travelers, only 14% of them have used Chat GPT to plan a trip in the past six months. And only 31% of them report that it is likely they will use Chat GPT to plan their next trip, statistically unchanged from 32% in April of 2023.

Past Waves

• Wave 81 as of January 25th, 2024
• Wave 74 as of June 13th, 2023
• Wave 73 as of May 10th, 2023
• Wave 72 as of April 13th, 2023
• Wave 71 as of March 8th, 2023 
• Wave 70 as of February 9th, 2023
• Wave 69 as of January 10th, 2023
• Wave 68 as of December 6th, 2022
• Wave 67 as of November 1st, 2022 
• Wave 66 as of October 4th, 2022
• Wave 65 as of September 7th, 2022 
• Wave 64 as of August 9th, 2022 
• Wave 63 as of July 12th, 2022 
• Wave 62 as of June 14th, 2022
• Wave 61 as of May 17th, 2022 
• Wave 60 as of April 20th, 2022
• Wave 59 as of April 5th, 2022
• Wave 58 as of March 22nd, 2022
• Wave 57 as of March 8th, 2022
• Wave 56 as of February 23rd, 2022
• Wave 55 as of February 8th, 2022
• Wave 54 as of January 25th, 2022
• Wave 53 as of January 11th, 2022
• Wave 52 as of December 14th, 2021
• Wave 51 as of December 1st, 2021
• Wave 50 as of November 16th, 2021
• Wave 49 as of November 2nd, 2021
• Wave 48 as of October 19th, 2021
• Wave 47 as of October 5th, 2021
• Wave 46 as of September 21st, 2021
• Wave 45 as of September 7th, 2021
• Wave 44 as of August 24th, 2021
• Wave 43 as of August 10th, 2021
• Wave 42 as of July 27th, 2021
• Wave 41 as of July 13th, 2021
• Wave 40 as of June 29th, 2021
• Wave 39 as of June 15th, 2021
• Wave 38 as of June 2nd, 2021
• Wave 37 as of May 18th, 2021
• Wave 36 as of April 28th, 2021
• Wave 35 as of April 20th, 2021
• Wave 34 as of April 6th, 2021
• Wave 33 as of March 23rd, 2021
• Wave 32 as of March 9th, 2021
• Wave 31 as of February 23rd, 2021
• Wave 30 as of February 9th, 2021
• Wave 29 as of January 26th, 2021
• Wave 28 as of January 6th, 2021
• Wave 27 as of December 20th
• Wave 26 as of December 2nd
• Wave 25 as of November 18th
• Wave 24 as of November 4th
• Wave 23 as of October 21st
• Wave 22 as of October 7th
• Wave 21 as of September 23rd
• Wave 20 as of September 9th
• Wave 19 as of August 31st
• Wave 18 as of August 17th
• Wave 17 as of August 3rd
• Wave 16 as of July 15th
• Wave 15 as of July 1st
• Wave 14 as of June 17th
• Wave 13 as of June 3rd
• Wave 12 as of May 27th
• Wave 11 as of May 20th
• Wave 10 as of May 13th
• Wave 9 as of May 6th
• Wave 8 as of April 29th
• Wave 7 as of April 22nd
• Wave 6 as of April 15th
• Wave 5 as of April 8th
• Wave 4 as of April 1st
• Wave 3 as of March 25th
• Wave 2 as of March 18th
• Wave 1 as of March 11th

Greater Philadelphia

Impact of COVID-19 on Consumers’ Intention to Travel and Travel Priorities – Visit Philadelphia
Findings from the latest visitphilly.com consumer survey, completed by more than 4,000 potential travelers.

• Visit Philadelphia’s Research Update – March 4, 2021
  Data shows that travel optimism is improving, reflected in the fact that many travelers are already in the trip planning process and more than half plan to travel again before June. They want the planning process to be easy and have shortened their booking window to a week or less as uncertainty remains around travel. Over half of the travelers in our key drive markets would likely visit Philadelphia in the next year, and our dining options, historic attractions, and outdoor experiences attract them here most. Learn more about our proprietary research and how you can use it for your marketing efforts in the presentation.

Impact of COVID-19 on Consumers’ Intention to Travel and Travel Priorities – Russell Research
An ongoing survey of consumers to evaluate the effects of COVID-19 on Philadelphia’s travel & tourism industry. The study is conducted using a nationally representative sample of approximately 1,000 interviews among adults ages 18+ with sample augments in the Philadelphia, New York and Washington DC DMAs.

• Return To Traveling Report – Week of September 25
  As of September 28, one-half of travelers in our key DMAs had at least some hesitation with traveling. This hesitation had an impact on destination choice and trip length – quick trips (1-2 nights) within 200 miles being most likely. On average, travelers were planning about three months and booking about two months prior to traveling. Travelers in our region are most motivated to travel by getting away from home, and would be interested in general sightseeing and outdoor, historic attractions when visiting Philadelphia.

Past Waves

• Wave 6 – Week of May 11th
• Wave 5 – Week of April 27th
• Wave 4 – Week of April 6th
• Wave 3 – Week of March 30th
• Wave 2 – Week of March 23rd
• Benchmark Survey – Week of March 16th

Pennsylvania

Travel Mindsets Amidst COVID-19 – PA Tourism
A monthly survey of consumers to gauge current and future feelings toward travel, travel motivators and if Pennsylvania is being considered as a destination for future travel. The study is conducted using a representative sample of 1,000 adults ages 18+ from PA and the surrounding states.

• Wave 4 as of October 28
  As of October, close to a third of travelers in the Pennsylvania region had started definitively planning for future trips, and another third had started somewhat planning. Planning was highest among younger travelers with higher household incomes. When thinking about traveling again, regional travelers are still most excited about getting away from home, followed by spending time with family and friends. Frequent travelers are more comfortable traveling in the next six months, and past visitors show an even higher propensity to return to a destination in the near future. 

Past Waves

• Wave 3 as of July 24th
• Wave 2 as of May 29th
• Wave 1 as of April 16th

Economic Impact of COVID-19  – US Travel Association and Oxford Economics
Driven by U.S. Travel Association and Oxford Economics’ proprietary travel forecasting model, the semi-annual domestic and international forecast allows members to review the industry’s performance and consider the prospects for the coming year and through 2024.This document is available exclusively to U.S. Travel members.

• Current U.S. Travel Forecast

Our Visitors

• 2021 Overnight Leisure Visitor Profile
• 2019 Day Leisure Visitor Profile
• 2019 Overnight Leisure Accommodation Profile

Hotel Performance

• 2018 Philadelphia Hotel Performance
• 2017 Philadelphia Hotel Performance
• 2016 Philadelphia Hotel Performance
• 2015 Philadelphia Hotel Performance
• 1997-2017 Hotel Market Mix

Pennsylvania Tourism Industry

• Legislative District Leisure and Hospitality Job Counts 2017
• PA Annual Visitation & Economic Impact Reports

National Tourism Industry Reports

VISIT PHILADELPHIA Campaigns as Featured Case Studies:

• The Power of Travel Promotion, 2017
• USTA Leisure Travel Decision Making, 2016
• The Power of Destination Marketing, 2011

All reports are in Adobe Acrobat format. You can get more information or download the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader at www.adobe.com.

For research on the national tourism industry, visit U.S. Travel Association.