WILLIAM PENN FOUNDATION GRANT BRINGS TOURISM OUTDOORS
$330,000 Grant Provides Funds for Marketing Study and Plan

PHILADELPHIA, May 20, 2003 – The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) today announced that the organization is the recipient of a $330,000 grant from the William Penn Foundation to develop a comprehensive marketing plan to promote the Philadelphia region’s natural landscape and outdoor experiences. The funding is the first major marketing grant made by the Foundation to focus on promoting the area’s considerable natural assets to residents and visitors, who cite the outdoors as one of the four top reasons for traveling to Philadelphia, according to research recently released by GPTMC.

The 18-month initiative will include research and development of a tourism marketing plan. Work will include reviewing existing marketing resources, convening groups that represent relevant organizations and assessing the visitor readiness at various outdoor sites, including parks, riverways and biking and hiking trails. This grant is the second award that William Penn has given to GPTMC for tourism marketing. The first one was for the development of the recently launched Philadelphia CultureFiles, an insider’s online guide to the region’s arts and culture.

The William Penn Foundation, founded in 1945 by Otto and Phoebe Haas, promotes understanding of and action on important issues facing the Philadelphia region, in order to advance dynamic and diverse communities that provide meaningful opportunity, and to improve the region's quality of life. Through its grant making and other efforts, the Foundation fosters rich cultural expression, strengthens children's futures and deepens connections to nature and community.

The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation is a non-profit organization dedicated to generating awareness of and visitation to Philadelphia, Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery Counties. For more information about travel to Philadelphia, visit www.gophila.com or call the new Independence Visitor Center, located in Independence National Historical Park, at (800) 537-7676.

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Note to Editors: For story angles and photographic images of Philadelphia and its surrounding countryside, visit www.gophila.com/pressroom.     May 2003

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