U.S. Travel Association’s Bus Tour Stops in New Orleans March 28

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contacts:
Tara Letort
504-566-5019
tletort@neworleanscvb.com

Kelly Schulz
504-421-0962
kschulz@neworleanscvb.com

U.S. Travel Association's Bus Tour Stops in New Orleans March 28

Grassroots campaign to educate locals about the importance of travel to the US economy and to cities such as New Orleans that rely heavily on tourism

WHAT:           U.S. Travel Association's "Vote Travel" Bus Tour

WHERE:        Headquarters of New Orleans Tourism, 2020 St. Charles Ave.

WHEN:          Wednesday, March 28, 2012; 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

DETAILS: As part of the U.S. Travel Association's 20,000-Mile "Vote Travel" Bus Tour, the bus will stop in New Orleans on Wednesday, March 28 from 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., in a grassroots effort to educate locals about the importance of travel not only to the US, but also to cities such as New Orleans that rely heavily on tourism. This grassroots effort will begin in Memphis and continue on to New Orleans as the second stop on their tour across the county. A current schedule of the bus tour is available online.

U.S. Travel representatives will stage a large bus in front of the official tourism headquarters, the NOCVB and NOTMC, and invite hospitality members, media, elected officials and travel industry leaders to pick up brochures, t-shirts and learn about ways to promote the 2012 Vote Travel campaign. In addition, locals will be asked to sign a pledge that supports "policies that safely and effectively reduce barriers to travel to and within the United States."

Stephen Perry, President and CEO of the NOCVB, who has served on the U.S. Travel and Tourism Advisory Board since 2008 and sits on the board and executive committee of the US Travel Association, will be on-hand to discuss his role in matters related to the national and local travel industries.

 "Yesterday was a milestone in the city of New Orleans as we announced a 5.6% increase in visitor numbers from 2010 to 8.75 million visitors in 2011, with a record-breaking $5.47 billion dollars of visitor spending." said Stephen Perry, President and CEO of the NOCVB. "This U.S. Travel Association campaign is very timely as we continue to stress the importance of tourism to all New Orleanians, with an extra effort to support international travel, and ultimately help us reach our goal of 13.7 million visitors and $11 billion dollars by 2018."

"Tourism is an important economic driver not only for New Orleans, but for the entire nation," said Mark Romig, President and CEO of New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation. "Showing our support throughout the country through visitation to our great cities as well as voting for tourism initiatives is something we all should consider both a privilege and an obligation."

The U.S. Travel Association is the national, non-profit organization representing all components of the travel industry that generates $1.9 trillion in economic output and supports 14.4 million jobs. U.S. Travel's mission is to increase travel to and within the United States.

MEDIA CONTACTS:
New Orleans CVB: Tara Letort, 504-566-5019, tletort@neworleanscvb.com; Kelly Schulz, 504-421-0962, kschulz@neworleanscvb.com