Tourism Officials Market Philadelphia As Destination For Art Lovers
By Steve Tawa
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - In advance of the mid-May opening of the Barnes Foundation Museum on the Ben Franklin Parkway, the city of Philadelphia and tourism officials are launching a new arts marketing campaign.
The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation's Meryl Levitz say it's a first-of-its-kind partnership to position Philadelphia among the world's great art destinations.
"With the coming of the Barnes, and the focus of the world on Philadelphia, what better opportunity to show everybody what we have here."
Barnes' officials say the project is on time and on budget for a May 19th opening, and it'll offer free, around-the-clock access over the Memorial Day weekend, thanks to corporate support.
Leaders of the city's preeminent cultural institutions, including the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society also hope to benefit from the ramp up in marketing:
"We think what we have here is just so rich that they'll have to come back a number of times."
