Between a trio of Taylor Swift shows, a Beyonce concert, an international soccer tournament and much more, Philly’s stadiums, hotels and restaurants were filled with visitors in 2023.
Tourism officials say it’s just the prelude to what promises to be an unprecedented 2026 for the city’s economy as the nation celebrates America’s 250th birthday and Philly hosts the MLB All Star Game, and of course, a series of games as part of the FIFA World Cup.
But before we get to 2026, let’s look back at how 2023 shaped up. Here’s a look at tourism for the region which includes Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties, by the numbers:
- Total visitors: 42.9 million, that’s a 6% increase over 2022, but 6% below 2019.
- Visitor spending: $7.6 billion, an 8% increase over 2022, and about equal to 2019.
- Economic impact: $12.4 billion, up 6% over 2022, and about on par with 2019.
- State and local taxes: $1 billion, up 11% over 2022, and up 4% compared to 2019.
- Hospitality-related jobs: 192,700, up 8% over 2022, and 1% over 2019.
Here’s a look at numbers for Philadelphia by itself:
- Total visitors: 25.8 million, a 7% increase over 2022, but 7% below 2019.
- Visitor spending: $4.4 billion, a 10% increase over 2022, but 1% lower than 2019.
- Economic impact: $6.6 billion, a 9% increase over 2022, but 8% below 2019.
- State and local taxes: $387 million, up 15% over 2022, and 10% higher than 2019
- Hospitality-related jobs: 77,200, a 10% increase over 2022, but 1% below 2019.
- Hotel occupancy: 62.3%, a 7% increase over 2022, but 19% below 2019.
- Hotel revenue: $859 million, an 11% increase over 2022, but 3% below 2019.
