• Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce – strives to influence business-friendly legislation
in all levels of government, participate in initiatives to improve education and the community,
present professional enrichment programs, and provide members with cost-efficient ways to run their
businesses. One innovative way in which the MAC partners with the GPCOC is by offering joint
membership between the two groups, meaning that MAC members can receive some of the benefits
of GPCOC membership without becoming full-fledged members. www.greaterphilachamber.com
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•
Cultural Heritage Tourism
• Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation – promotes greater Philadelphia
by marketing the region and building its image in a way that increases business and promotes
economic vitality. One of the GPTMC’s many initiatives is a series of cultural and heritage tours of
Philadelphia’s historic neighborhoods. www.gophila.com
• Central City District/Central Philadelphia Development Corporation – this is Philadelphia’s
downtown improvement organization, and they work to enhance central city life through initiatives
such as street cleaning, public safety and events. www.centercityphila.org
• Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation – a local CDC that works to improve the city’s
Chinatown area by attracting new businesses, putting residents in contact with needed social services
and publishing a bilingual newsletter. www.chinatown-pcdc.org
eVALUATION
As a division of the PCVB, the primary measure of success for the MAC is the number of minority
conventions and groups attracted to Philadelphia and the number of hotel rooms filled on a nightly
basis. However, the MAC also judges its efforts based on (a) the overall feedback it receives from its
hospitality partners, and (b) the level of diversity that is achieved in the city’s hospitality industry. In
terms of this latter point, the MAC views its primary goal as increasing diversity in both the multicultural
and traditional tourism fields, which specifically means increasing patronage at both minority-specific
attractions (e.g., the African American Museum of Philadelphia) and mainstream ones (e.g., the
Philadelphia Museum of Art).
THe FUTURe
The MAC views its current efforts as very successful – the organization has won several national awards
– and so its main hope is to expand its current programs. Its primary goal in this will be to increase
Philadelphia’s number of multicultural visitors and the strength of its multicultural business community,
which it believes would best be achieved through additional partnerships. As a small organization with
a staff of only four though, expanding the MAC’s scope will require additional resources, which may be
difficult given its reliance on PCVB funding. The MAC has also been gradually shifting its mission over
recent years to include a stronger focus on community development in addition to tourism, and they hope
to continue this trend through multicultural business development and marketing.
Cultural Heritage Tourism
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