Philadelphia Tourism Up In 2017 Report
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- How is tourism in Philadelphia, and how do those numbers compare to rest of the country?
Visit Philadelphia's annual 2017 tourism report has been released and president and CEO Meryl Levitz says 2016 was an excellent year for the city.
"We crushed it once again. Last year, we had 42 million visitors which was up 2.4% from the preceding year," she said.
But CBS News Travel Editor Peter Greenberg says there's more that needs to be considered when you look at the data.
"Philadelphia is doing great in terms of the numbers, but that doesn't mean they can sustain them due to factors that are beyond their control," said Greenberg.
One of those factors having an impact is the new Trump administration.
"A huge impact. I hate to use that word "huge," but it is a huge impact. Inbound travel to the United States is down to 16%. President Trump's executive order, even though it has not been upheld by the courts, that he signed back in January has had a devastating effect on online searches an online bookings," Greenberg said.