For Philadelphia and Southwest Love is in the Air

PHILADELPHIA, June 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Philadelphia, the Place That Loves You Back, and Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV) have aligned in a new partnership. The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) and Southwest Airlines proudly announce a $125,000 gay-friendly tourism marketing campaign designed to increase air travel and overnight visits to the Greater Philadelphia region by gay and lesbian travelers.

Southwest Airlines is now the exclusive airline of GPTMC's Philadelphia - Get Your History Straight and Your Nightlife Gay(R) campaign. The year-long agreement incorporates advertising, communications, direct-to-consumer promotions in key markets and online marketing. In addition, the partnership includes considerable charitable marketing contributions to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) organizations in Philadelphia. Information on gay-friendly Philadelphia and gay-friendly accommodations can be found at gophila.com/gay.

In the United States, gay travelers spend $55 billion annually, primarily on leisure travel, according to Community Marketing Incorporated, based in San Francisco, California. Community Marketing's "11th Annual LGBT Travel Survey," a research study profile of more than 7,500 self-identified gay and lesbian consumers, showed that gay travelers fly frequently, with 84% of respondents taking at least one flight in the last year, and the median respondent taking six flights.

"Partnering with Southwest Airlines to invite gay travelers to visit from farther distances means that they will spend more time here enjoying our history and nightlife, and they will also spend more money in our hotels, shops and attractions and in the gay community," Meryl Levitz, GPTMC president and CEO. "We know that gay travelers spend one and half times what other travelers spend, $800 per trip/per person compared to $540 per trip/per person, according to the newest HarrisInteractive/Travel Industry of America study on gay travel."

Since November 2003, GPTMC has invested $1.3 million in gay tourism, starting with the launch of its groundbreaking tourism campaign, Philadelphia - Get Your History Straight and Your Nightlife Gay(R). GPTMC's gay tourism campaign has won prestigious awards from the Travel Industry of America (TIA), The Association of National Advertisers (ANA), PR Week, and Hospitality and Sales Marketing Association International (HSMAI) for its innovation.

Southwest Airlines boasts a strong 83% rating on the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Corporate Equality Index, a widely recognized benchmark of companies' gay-friendly policies. Southwest is the only low-fare carrier with an HRC rating. The HRC Corporate Equality Index rating was based on Southwest Airlines' non-discrimination policies covering sexual orientation and gender identity. In addition, Southwest provides the same health insurance benefits and other benefits to same-sex couples as those offered to opposite-sex married individuals.

In May 2007, Southwest Airlines launched the airline's first ever Web page dedicated to the gay and lesbian community at http://www.southwest.com/gaytravel. The page is an inviting section on the Southwest site that includes specific information and relevant imagery that makes the gay traveler feel welcomed and appreciated by the airline. The site includes dedicated offers and helpful information on gay-friendly destinations and events around the country. A new gay-friendly Southwest logo was also created to reflect a commitment to engage the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community and support their travel interests. Since we know that gay travelers fly more than their heterosexual counterparts, Southwest is also offering a special Rapid Rewards gay pride enrollment offer of four free credits. This is the first, but not the last, GLBT marketing campaign for Southwest. More announcements will come at a later date.

"We want the GLBT community to know about our low fares, excellent Customer Service, and great Rapid Rewards program for the same reason we want every community to know that if you love to travel, there's simply no better airline than Southwest Airlines," said Jena Atchison, Segment Marketing Manager of Southwest Airlines.

About Southwest

Southwest Airlines was named to BusinessWeek magazine's first ever list of "Customer Service Champs." The BusinessWeek list, which appeared in the March 5, 2007, issue, ranks the best providers of Customer Service, and digs into the techniques, strategies, and tools they use to deliver great service. Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV) , the nation's largest carrier in terms of domestic passengers enplaned according to the latest release from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, currently serves 63 cities in 32 states-the airline will begin service to San Francisco this fall. Based in Dallas, Southwest currently operates more than 3,300 flights a day and has more than 33,000 Employees nationwide.

About GPTMC

The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) builds the region's economy and image through destination marketing to increase the number of visitors, the number of nights they stay and the number of things they do in the five-county region. For more information about travel to Philadelphia, visit http://www.gophila.com/ or call the Independence Visitor Center, located in Independence National Historical Park, at (800) 537-7676.