Cincinnati USA to Host Convention of Leading Travel Professionals in 2007

Influential Tour Operators and Tour Planners to meet in Cincinnati and Consider it as a Destination

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. October 14, 2008

CINCINNATI, OH, December 2, 2005. Cincinnati USA will have the opportunity to host a group of influential tour operators and tour planners when they convene here in 2007, and local hospitality industry executives hope they will return again and again with their tour groups.

The Heartland Travel Showcase, a trade show produced by Ohio Travel Association, has chosen Cincinnati as the host location for its meeting Feb. 21 - 25, 2007. A group of 800 attendees will convene at the Cinergy Center and stay at the Hilton Netherland Plaza and the Hyatt Regency Cincinnati, representing 1,300 room nights during what is historically a slow time of year.

Of the 800 attendees, 150 are tour operators or tour planners who will be looking at the region as a destination for future groups. The Heartland Travel Showcase encompasses attendees from Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Ontario, Canada. The group hasn't convened in Cincinnati USA in 14 years.

In February 2006, the Heartland Travel Showcase will be held in Buffalo, N.Y., and a group of representatives from Cincinnati USA's attractions and partners will attend, exhibit, and host a reception at the event to introduce the region and generate attendee excitement for 2007.

"All of us in the regional hospitality industry - hotels, restaurants, attractions, events, convention and visitors bureaus and others - will enthusiastically welcome this group of prominent, highly connected tour planners. We are delighted to have this opportunity to market the region to such notable travel professionals," said Scott Usitalo, president of the Cincinnati USA Regional Tourism Network, which is hosting and managing the event. "We are developing an outstanding agenda to showcase the region's best assets."

Heartland Travel Showcase last met in Cincinnati in 1993. With more than $2 billion in capital improvements downtown and along the riverfront, there are countless new and exciting destinations that truly define what our region is today that we want this group to see, Usitalo added.

In a demonstration of the teamwork taking place between local convention and visitors bureaus and the Regional Tourism Network, the Greater Cincinnati Convention and Visitors Bureau's sales team worked to bring in the Heartland Travel Showcase, and the Regional Tourism Network is leading the planning and logistics for the group. The Regional Tourism Network will be issuing a call for participation in the event later this month.

The group tour market's growth potential and lucrative nature makes hosting this convention especially significant for Cincinnati USA. According to a recent study by researchers at George Washington University, one overnight visit by a motor coach group can generate between $5,000 and $11,000 for a destination's local economy. Those dollars are spent on lodging, meals, admissions, fees, shopping, souvenirs, services and local taxes.