42.9 million people visited Philly in 2023 — but tourism officials hope more are on the way

tourism industry leaders and Mayor Cherelle L. Parker gathered on Wednesday at the Pennsylvania Convention Center to discuss how tourism impacted the Philadelphia region in 2023, and what they expect for the industry in 2024.

“Philadelphia benefits from a strong tourism economy,” said Mayor Parker. “tourism attracts new residents, new businesses, and a new workforce to our area when people feel good about their Philadelphia experience.”

Although Philadelphians have always known “how awesome our city is,” noted Mayor Parker, others beyond the city have begun to notice too. She mentioned recent accolades the city has garnered including James Beard nominations announced in January, landing on Lonely Planet’s tourism/philadelphia-best-travel-city-tourism-lonely-planet.html”>top destinations to visit in 2024 as the best U.S. city, and Philadelphia being ”one of the best performing cities” in a ranking focused on sustainable growth and resilience from Milken Institute, a nonprofit think tank.

Last year,…