The Philadelphia Gay Tourism Caucus unveiled the third installment of its Gayborhood map and merchant guide this week, with a fresh, new look that represents several local agencies’ commitment to heightening the city’s reputation as a top LGBT travel destination. The map was spearheaded by PGTC’s marketing committee, which began working on redeveloping the agency’s existing guide nearly a year ago. The newly designed product, which was again sponsored by original partners Center City District and Enterprise Rent-a-Car, also garnered sponsorship from Philadelphia Magazine, which served as an editorial and production partner. Tami Sortman, president of the PGTC, said the redesigned guide reflects the increase of gay-owned and gay-friendly businesses throughout the city. “I’m excited about the evolution of the product, from being the merchant guide to being the ‘welcome to the Gayborhood map’ — it’s much more streamlined,” she said. “And it starts at the center and radiates out — like the Gayborhood. We start on the cover with displaying the gay signage, which is what you see when you are in the Gayborhood.”
Jeff Guaracino, vice president of communications at Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation, said the product serves not only as a physical guide for tourists but also shows LGBT visitors that the city values their contributions. “This is designed to point the visitor to the places of interest, both daytime and nighttime, to gay-owned and friendly businesses, which is a huge need right now. There’s no other map out there that serves that purpose,” Guaracino said. “The important thing is it’s all about the visitor experience. We want LGBT visitors to know that we want them to have the absolute best time.” Steve Rosen, head of the PGTC marketing committee that oversaw the product’s development, said the map, which was introduced in 2005 and redeveloped two years later, has changed to meet users’ needs. “It’s really an evolution,” he said. “With the interactive, Internet age we’re in now, we wanted to be able to give map users a taste of the Gayborhood and of gay Philadelphia that focused more on being engaging and exciting than on being comprehensive.” The fold-up map provides a grid of the Gayborhood, with colored and numbered dots labeled for each of the 50 businesses and agencies included; a sidebar provides the phone number and Web site for each venue. The map also offers brief write-ups about several LGBT mainstays — Woody’s, William Way LGBT Community Center, Giovanni’s Room, 12th Street Gym, Knock and Alexander Inn — each featured in its own colorful bubble along with a photo. Although the graphics are more engaging than in previous years, Rosen said PGTC decided to pare down the amount of information offered in this year’s guide. “In the previous guide we attempted more or less to try to catalog every gay-owned and gay-friendly business in the Gayborhood, but in this case we tried to do as much as we could, but not as comprehensively,” he said. Rosen noted the new guide directs readers to numerous Web sites that provide further information about the city and its offerings, and provides tailored messages for LGBT tourists. The product does not just focus on the Gayborhood, but also offers information on other LGBT-friendly neighborhoods, such as Rittenhouse Square, Queen Village, Northern Liberties, Fairmount and East Passyunk Aveunue/South Philadelphia, with must-see tourist destinations, bars, restaurants and shops in each area listed briefly — an effort Rosen said Philadelphia Magazine proved invaluable in fueling. “When we branched out to the neighborhoods beyond the actual Gayborhood, they were very, very helpful in shaping both the content and the writing,” he said. “The map has a great gay attitude, which we love, but it also has a Philly attitude.” Jen Colletta can be reached at [email protected].