INFLUENTIAL TRADE INDUSTRY MAGAZINES VISIT NKY
NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Betty Burns
(816) 679-4074
Pat Frew, Director of Communications
859-655-4163
E-Mail: Pressroom@nkycvb.com | www.nkycvb.com
INFLUENTIAL TRADE INDUSTRY MAGAZINES VISIT NKY
Covington, KY/September 5, 2006—Representatives from the three largest national magazines read by meeting planners attended the Northern Kentucky Convention & Visitors Bureau Media Familiarization tour August 9 and 10.
Two editors and a freelance writer representing Meetings & Conventions, Meeting News, Successful Meetings and ConventionSouth with a combined circulation of more than a quarter million readers toured meeting sights and attractions during their brief two-day stay.
The whirlwind tour included a tour of:
• The Northern Kentucky Convention Center and its renovated exhibit hall;
• The two RiverCenter hotel properties: Marriott RiverCenter and Embassy Suites;
• Newport on the Levee;
• Newport Aquarium;
Also on the itinerary were a Reds baseball game, BB Riverboat lunch cruise, a van tour of the NKY/Cincinnati riverfront and a sunrise ascent of the Purple People Bridge Climb.
Bureau Communications Director Pat Frew said the visit was important because the impressions of these journalists carry great credibility with planners, especially those who have not visited the Northern Kentucky region.
“We find that if we can get planners to simply visit our area for a site tour, they are much more likely to book a meeting or convention here. But it takes repeated publicity efforts such as those that will be generated as a result of this event to get on the planner’s radar screen before they are familiar enough with our area that they will consent to a visit.”
Clair Byrd, ConventionSouth magazine Destinations Editor, who was part of the contingent, said she had a great time. “I liked that we were able to actually experience the area—the ball game, the riverboat, the Bridge Climb and the Aquarium. You can’t really write about something until you do it. I think you presented us a good mix of your offerings in a fair amount of time.”
Byrd planned to use the information presented on the tour as she prepares a NKY site file story in the October issue of the magazine.
The mission of the Northern Kentucky Convention and Visitors Bureau is that of an aggressive sales, marketing, service and informational organization whose primary responsibility is to positively impact the Northern Kentucky economy through conventions, meetings and visitor expenditures. The direct economic impact of visitors’ spending in Campbell, Kenton and Boone Counties in 2005 was $255 million.