Business Travelers Spend Less - While Having More Fun! Delaware County’s Brandywine Country – Where Business Trips and Meetings are ‘LESS TAXING AND MORE RELAXING’ Challenging economic times call for plain speaking and the truth is, compared with Philadelphia – Delaware County has a lower average room rate, lower percentage of state sales tax and just a 2% occupancy tax. That means an overnight stay costs less – about $78 less per night (based on 2008 rates). But opportunities for relaxation are way up! Looking to relax? Use the extra $78 for a round of golf and dinner at one of the region’s outstanding public golf courses – place a few wagers at Harrah’s Chester Casino and Race Track (www.trackpackpa.com ) – or catch dinner and a show at the Media Theatre. Get the drift? Simply put, visitors get more bang for the buck in Delaware County’s Brandywine Country. Here at www.brandywinecountry.org people will find more than 50 ways to relax. And to learn more about business advantages, visit www.delcofirst.org. Where to Meet: Delaware County’s Brandywine Country now boasts 3200 hotel rooms and holds a consistently strong and steady occupancy rate, even in the recent economic decline. Four more hotels are planned for down the road. Some of the County’s largest meeting and convention venues include the Drexelbrook Corporate Event Center, Turbine Hall on Delaware River, The Chase Center, Normandy Farm Conference Center, Valley Forge Convention Center plus the Springfield Country Club. There is an additional one million square feet of conference at various hotels and unique meeting facilities throughout the county. And the good news is, the parking is free. Where to Eat: With more than 200 restaurants to choose from, Brandywine Country can take visitors on a world tour of delicacies! From American Steakhouses to European Bistro’s, Chinese, Japanese and Thai eateries – dine where ever the spirit takes you. Families will find over 50 very pocketbook friendly restaurants like Jimmy John’s famous Hot Dog Restaurant plus a host of Irish Pubs, taverns and outstanding diners where locals and visitors break bread happily! Where to Play: More than just athletes will love playing at the new Philadelphia Union Soccer Stadium scheduled to open in March of 2010. But if ‘ice’ is your preferred field of play, head out to IceWorks in Aston. Several Olympic Ice Skaters train there and more than 2 million youth hockey players are in tournaments on 4 rinks including both American and European sized ice. Those who prefer solid ground can go horseback riding, fishing, snow-shoe skiing, tour our famous gardens, visit our helicopter—military—and art museums or explore some of the best antiquing territory in the country. Where to Shop: From the King of Prussia Mall with 150+ stores, to quaint shopping areas like Olde Ridge Village, there are dozens of exciting locations for shopping. Spend a day in downtown Media where you can ride a trolley up and down State Street’s shopping and restaurant district. There are high end malls like Brinton Lakes and fabulous boutiques in towns like Chadds Ford and the Main Line towns of Wayne and Radnor. What’s coming up: Delaware County’s biggest outdoor event, is a14 mile end-of-summer celebration called Riverfront Ramble which takes place in September at 5 parks and marinas on the Delaware River (www.riverfrontramble.org). 25,000 people enjoy free shuttles to all locations, free concerts all day and night, fireworks, river rides, pony rides, crafts & jewelry vendors, car shows, children’s games and more. The Mushroom Festival, a 2-day event in September celebrates the fact that 51% of the nation’s mushrooms come from our region and Rose Tree Park in Media has a state of the art outdoor theatre where they do a 45 night free Summer Music Festival. Rose Tree Park also hosts a large Festival of Lights throughout December and one of the biggest food events for meeting and event planners is Taste & Tour of the Countryside which draws more than 1500 meeting planners. Visit www.tasteandtour.org for more information or call Marty Milligan at 610-565-3679. Transportation: The region is served by extensive regional rail and bus lines (Septa). Philadelphia International Airport, which is actually located in Delaware County, provides quick and easy access to every corner of the county. There is taxi and shuttle service to local hotels, plus bus and subway transportation from the airport to Philadelphia and other towns. Dozens of major highways converge here, including I-95, the Blue Route (495), Routes 1, 3, 30 and 202, all of which can take you from one end of the county to the other…and all lead to neighboring states and regions you may be visiting. Philadelphia can be reached by car or rail in less than 30 minutes from anywhere in the county. Higher Education: There are more than 20 colleges and universities in Delaware County including Villanova, Neumann University, Penn State Brandywine and Swarthmore. This does not include dozens of additional campuses in Philadelphia and the countryside. All campuses host exciting sports and cultural events and some campuses have their own conference facilities. Several can also provide summer housing for extended visits to the area. Contact information: Delaware County’s Brandywine Conference and Visitors Bureau is located at One Beaver Valley Road, Chadds Ford, PA 19317. PH: 610-565-3679, FX: 610-361-0459. Visitor our web site for a complete list of attractions, lodging, and meeting facilities. If you would like assistance with information, tour planning or RFP distribution, contact Marty Milligan at the phone number above or at mmilligan@brandywinecvb.org.