Tourism is in Full Boom
in Riverside “Yes, Delco always will be gorgeous gar- dens and rare historic sites, but take our Riverside for example: it’s an area that once was an east coast leader in ship building and oil refinery production, and more recently has faced some daunting economic and opportunity challenges,” observes Fiore.
Reception set up at Grace Winery in Glen Mills, PA
Marketing Strategy According to Tore Fiore, executive direc- tor and the creative force behind the new “We Are Who We Are” brand that says - along with famous gardens and historic sites of the Brandywine - Delaware County is home to the Main Line (upscale shopping, dining, spas and gardens), Riverside (historic communities along the Delaware River), Crossroads (globally energized Philly gateway towns with a huge international restaurant and shopping scene), as well as the exciting food and festival-rich Main Streets in bustling towns along PA Route One, which winds through the center of the county.
Launching a New
“Like the song says, ‘We’re a little bit country and little bit rock n’ roll,” Fiore pronounces, adding that the new Destination Delco is proud of all its char- acter-rich neighborhoods and attrac- tions, from the quirky, weird and amaz- ing to the sentimental, historic and multi- cultural.
72 November December 2015
“But this also is where some of the best high school basketball players in the country take the court - in Chester,” he continues. “It’s where great lawyers are made at Widener University. It is home to America’s first Urban National Wildlife Refuge… and it now welcomes millions of visitors to our county every year for major league soccer, as well as the superior dining and entertainment offered at Harrah’s Casino and Racetrack.”
“We’re not unique,” adds Fiore, “just dif- ferent - in a fun, crazy way that we’re going to share with the rest of the coun- try.”
what’sNEW There is a lot of diversity in hotel and
event space options for both leisure and business travelers as well as meeting planners in Destination Delco. The num- ber of options keeps growing, too. Hotel rooms in the area include iconic brands like: Wyndham, Renaissance, Marriott, Sheraton, Aloft, Springhill Suites, Staybridge Suites, Hampton and Holiday Inn, to name a few.
Many are surprised to learn that Delco also is home to two-thirds of the PHL airport and most of the adjacent hotels - all of which offer much lower rates, taxes, amenities and food prices than Philadelphia, and yet are just minutes from Center City, notes Fiore. He estimates that as much as $100 a day can be saved when rooming in Delco.
There also are premier full service busi- ness properties like the historic Wayne
and Radnor Hotels on the Main Line and several different types of hotels clustered in the Brandywine.
Destination Delco has developed a web site,
www.phillystay.com, which lists all of Delco’s hotels and B&Bs with direct links to their websites. It also features a list of all properties participating in the exciting 2016 Winter Rooms Campaign, which allows people to download a $50 off per night coupon that can be used January through March of 2016. The coupons are offered on a space avail- able basis and should be reserved well in advance by contacting each hotel directly.
In 2013, Delco’s hotel boom was aided by a 4.5 percent jump in occupancy, and it is safe to say that since then, “the beat goes on.”
A new Microtel Inn and Suites just opened in Ridley Township this summer, while another hotel has been approved with an adjoining community center and multiple restaurants.
Swarthmore College, home to the famous Scott Arboretum, will soon boast a 40-room boutique hotel of its own.
Sun Center Film Studios in Aston has been given approval to build a hotel on its property. Aston also is in the final approval stage for another hotel near the IceWorks Skating Complex, which fea- tures four Olympic- and International- sized ice rinks, and draws over two-mil- lion people a year for hockey tourna- ments and special events.
A Hilton Garden Inn is planned for Ellis Preserve near SAP's U.S. headquarters in Newtown Square.
Media, the county seat, has approved a Hampton Inn to be built, while Marple Township just won approval for a new hotel to be built in central Delco. A hotel also has been approved for Drexel Hill, to be located near Drexelbrook Corporate Event Center.
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