Building Brands Since 1987

Finally, the snow is gone and Philadelphia has been experiencing some beautiful Spring weather. With summer on its way, tourist season is set to hit our historic city. But maybe the only tourists will be those who don’t watch the news, don’t read the newspaper, and haven’t heard about the flash mob riots taking place in our great city. Flash mobs consisting of young Philadelphia teenagers with too much time on their hands and blatant disrespect for civility and community have been reeking havoc all over town. Center City, The Gallery, University City, you name it, they form in minutes using social networking sites as a catalyst for their planning— their plan to cause violence, destruction, and annoyance for no other reason than boredom. These flash mob incidents have definitely made us city folk more aware of our surroundings but my fear is that it has also deterred suburb dwellers and tourists from all over the country and world from giving our city a chance this season. The fear of being caught up in one of these mobs is real and dangerous, and it can take place at any time, even in the so-called “safest” parts of the city. So what does this mean for businesses, museums, and restaurants in the city that count on the business of tourists during the summer? Disaster.