Tourism agency's shows local love

 PHILADELPHIA. After a decline in domestic travel last year, local tourism officials unveiled a new campaign to target residents in the Mid-Atlantic region by urging them to get out of the house – and into a hotel room.

Officials with the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corp. announced yesterday they would spend most of a $2.5 million campaign on area residents with ads on billboards, transit stations and local media. It is the first time since just after 9/11 that officials have focused the majority of advertising on local residents.

"People are looking to be tourists in their own town, and one way they can do that is by staying at a hotel rather than at home," said Meryl Levitz, president and CEO of GPTMC.

By targeting "staycationers" or those who vacation near home, Levitz said they also hope local residents will encourage friends and family members to take overnight trips.

Last year, domestic travelers in Greater Philadelphia were down by 0.7 percent and hotel occupancy rates in Center City fell 3.2 percent, according to an annual report from GPTMC. That was despite a slight uptick in leisure travelers.

Nationally, AAA expects travel for Memorial Day to increase by about 1.5 percent, a reversal from last year when the agency predicted a decline, largely because of higher gas prices. Experts caution, however, that that may not hold true for Greater Philadelphia.

"Every region of the country is going to be different with travel numbers because regional holiday trip forecasts are influenced by different economic conditions in each market," said Catherine Rossi, AAA Mid-Atlantic's director of Government Affairs.