"If we don't do anything else, we need to expand the number of jobs in the city," Greenberger said at a "State of the City" discussion Tuesday in the original Convention Center building. "That's why the hospitality industry is so important for people . . . who need jobs. We have to keep growing that base."
In addition to Greenberger, panelists Tuesday included Jack Ferguson, head of the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau; Meryl Levitz, CEO and president of the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corp.; and Ahmeenah Young, president and CEO of the Pennsylvania Convention Center Authority.
About 200 people, most working in the hospitality industry, attended the discussion and got a tour of the center's new spaces afterward.
Last month's opening of the $786 million Convention Center expansion "transformed us from a large urban center to a hospitality center," Young said. "Do we have a challenge? Absolutely. We are in the process of dealing with that challenge."
The city's biggest and newest attraction, the expansion more than doubled the sellable space of the existing Convention Center.
"I'm not a believer in 'Build it, and they will come,' " Ferguson said. "I'm a believer in 'Build it and give them a reason to come.' "
So far, Ferguson said, his bureau has secured $2.7 billion in future bookings related to the expansion. "It's a critical component," he said. "We would not be where we are today without it."
For Levitz, whose agency is focused on bringing the leisure traveler here, other improvements, including the $320 million makeover of Independence Mall, have contributed to making Philadelphia "an attractive place to live, work, and play."
She said that the city drew 37 million visitors last year and that leisure travelers have tripled in the last 12 years. "Philly is a very resilient destination," Levitz said, "because it's on everyone's list."
