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Cincinnati USA CVB Hosts National and Regional Media to Help Local Businesses Maximize Media Impact

'Meet the Editor' Event Held During National Travel & Tourism Week, May 4-12
The Cincinnati USA Convention & Visitors Bureau is hosting its second annual “Meet the Editor” event to mark National Travel and Tourism Week on Friday, May 10 from 10 a.m. until noon at the Aronoff Center for the Performing Arts, Sixth & Walnut Streets in downtown Cincinnati.
The event will be an exclusive discussion with national, regional and local media about key trends shaping the news industry and timely tips on breaking through to amplify your brand and your message. Additionally, the director of the internationally-recognized Pew Research Project for Excellence in Journalism will offer a keynote address on the “State of the Media in 2013.”
The event, offered at no charge, will help participants understand how the U.S. media landscape is shifting toward the digital age while they hear from national media professionals representing outlets such as the Associated Press and national television shows, along with magazines and websites on how to pitch story ideas and discover the best way to make sure organizations stay top of mind with local, regional and national media targets.
Please RSVP Here

Lake Geneva Area Awake with Activity

The birds are chirping, the temperature is rising, and soon the landscape will be in full bloom. As nature wakes up to the new season, there is also an awakening taking place in the Lake Geneva area. Seasonal attractions are opening once again, the famous cruise line is in full swing, and the great outdoors anxiously await visitors. If you are looking for a relaxing getaway, spring is a great time for families, couples, or friends to visit the Lake Genera area. Here are some activities and attractions not to miss:
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Check Out the New Brand for Columbia, MO

Experience Tall Ships and Tall Flips in Cleveland
Family Entertainment is Never in Short Supply in Northeast Ohio

For just a minute, consider record-breaking roller coasters, the warmest of the Great Lakes offering beautiful, active beaches and islands, as well as the most concentrated square mile of arts and cultural institutions in the United States. How about massive African Elephants and rock and roll coupled with a restaurant serving every kind of grilled cheese imaginable. Or, a ride inside "the best amusement park in the country" followed by a wet and wild adventure inside the world's largest indoor waterpark.
Perhaps surprisingly, all of these opportunities are available in the ultra family-friendly Midwest city of Cleveland, located just 500 miles from 43 percent of the country. So, there's no better time for families to start planning their vacation to Northeast Ohio.
To view this document as a PDF online, click here.

St. Louis Hotel Landscape Filled with Colorful Changes

Visitors checking into St. Louis’ hotels will find a collection of properties that have been updated and renewed.
Near Lambert St. Louis International Airport, the St. Louis Airport Marriott is in the midst of a $15 million renovation. The property’s 35,000 square feet of meeting space is being improved and all 600 guest rooms and suites are undergoing a redesign. A new lobby will be added to the building and the fitness center, concierge lounge and hotel bar are having a facelift for the future. The hotel remains open during construction, which is expected to be completed in 2014.
In the Chesterfield area of West St. Louis County, the Doubletree Hotel & Conference Center has debuted a $10 million renovation. Extensive updates have been made to the lobby, ballroom, conference center and all guest rooms. The 223-room property is known for its 21,000-square-foot, IACC-approved Executive Conference Center and first-rate tennis club and fitness center facilities.
The classic Cheshire in the Clayton neighborhood has added a collection of restaurants to the boutique hotel’s offerings. The 3,500-square-foot restaurant building includes private event space for 150 seated or 300 in a reception. The Restaurant features seasonal, fine dining menus that change daily and highlight locally sourced foods. The more casual basement level restaurant called Basso serves brick-oven pizzas and homemade pasta. The Marketplace brings cheeses, breads and house-made accompaniments, perfect for an impromptu picnic in nearby Forest Park.
In the Loop neighborhood to the north of Forest Park, the boutique Moonrise Hotel is putting the finishing touches on the New Moon Room. Powered entirely by an array of solar panels, this glass-walled space at the top of the hotel is designed to host up to 200 people for a reception or 150 for a seated meal. Meeting room-style setups can accommodate from 50 to 150 attendees. The hotel is near Forest Park’s attractions and Washington University in St. Louis. The Loop neighborhood includes six blocks of dining, shopping and entertainment options.
With more than 3,300 Holiday Inn Hotels worldwide, St. Louis’ Holiday Inn South County Center is the 8th in the company to have the new “Hub at Holiday Inn.” The “Hub” concept includes a cheerful lobby with a state-of-the-art business center, Wii gaming center, a 24-hour market and open concept restaurant and lounge. A new exterior and fresh contemporary décor for the hotel’s ballroom and boardroom add to the property's transformation.
In Downtown St. Louis, the St. Louis Union Station Hotel is now affiliated with Doubletree by Hilton. The hotel is housed in the 1894 National Historic Landmark Union Station which was once the busiest train station in the country. It is located near the Peabody Opera House and is on the MetroLink light rail line, allowing easy access to and from the airport, sports facilities, the Gateway Arch and the convention center.
For more information please visit www.explorestlouis.com.

New Brand Unveiled: Vibrant. Unexpected. ‘Catchy.’

The Greater Des Moines Convention and Visitors Bureau and Des Moines Area Sports Commission urges planners to “Catch Des Moines.” The goal: Lure more visitors, and their spending power, into Greater Des Moines and therefore further improve the success of events.
The bold, new messaging and look suggests that Greater Des Moines has everything visitors want to find in a city, and things they don’t expect to find in a city. It is a city made easy. It’s easy to get around. Easy to get a table on short notice. Easy to feel safe. Easy to catch more.
“Our research shows that using the word ‘catch’ throughout our messaging demonstrates the true ease of our city, while also communicating that we are hip, vibrant and fun,” said Greg Edwards, President and CEO of the Greater Des Moines Convention and Visitors Bureau and Des Moines Area Sports Commission. “These are specific attributes visitors expect and experience here. This makes the newly identified brand more believable and relevant.”
Please visit www.catchdemoines.com to 'catch' the spirit of this great city.

New Developments in Columbus for Meetings & Conventions

Columbus is fast becoming the place for meeting attendees to experience more than ever, with a new convention package, plenty of new and improved hotel space and several number-one ranked attractions. And it’s only going to get better. So what has Columbus done to make the city such an attractive destination?
Here is a brief look at some of Ohio’s capital city’s recent developments.
New Convention Package
The newly-enhanced convention package makes the Greater Columbus Convention Center and its 410,000 square feet of exhibit space more appealing than ever. With the addition of the 532-room, 48-suite and 30,650-square-foot Hilton Columbus Downtown, which opened Oct. 19, Columbus now has 25,932 hotel rooms citywide, 3,800 total rooms downtown and 2,100 connected or adjacent to the convention center.
New and Renovated Hotels
Since 2008, more than $63 million in renovations have taken place to full-service hotels in Columbus. Refreshed properties include the Hyatt Regency, Crowne Plaza Columbus Downtown, The Westin Columbus, Renaissance Columbus Downtown, Red Roof Inn Columbus Downtown, Holiday Inn Columbus Downtown Capitol Square and the Hilton Columbus at Easton.
In addition to the new Hilton Columbus Downtown, The Joseph is a 130-room boutique hotel scheduled to open in early 2014 in Columbus’ Short North Arts District, just a few blocks north of the Greater Columbus Convention Center. Designed by the Miami-based architectural firm Arquitectonica, the 11-story modernist high-rise will feature 135 rooms, an in-house restaurant and spa services. The Joseph, a Le Meridien hotel, will also serve as a place to show pieces from the world-class modern art collection of the Columbus-based developer Ron Pizzuti.
2013 Events
The added space and collaborative community spirit have also given Columbus the opportunity to host two major sporting events in 2013.
The Columbus Blue Jackets and Nationwide Arena will play host to the 2013 NHL All-Star Weekend from January 26-27. The arena district will be transformed into a family-friendly village the week of the event, with lots of activities for all ages and travel packages will be available soon.
The 2013 President’s Cup will be held at historic Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio on October 1-6. The tournament will be an exciting week of match play by the best golfers on the PGA Tour from around the world. Travel packages are available at ExperienceColumbus.com.

Visit Saint Paul Staff Collects 1,105 lbs of Food and Household Items for Neighborhood House

Visit Saint Paul staff collected and delivered 1,105 lbs of food and household items to the Neighborhood House in Saint Paul after a month-long food drive challenge. CVB President Karolyn Kirchgesler developed the staff challenge after hearing the organization was in great need of restocking their shelves that were at lower than average levels due to the dramatic increase in demand for food and household items.
"I am so proud of our staff for stepping up to the challenge and collecting over 1000 pounds of food and household items," said Kirchgesler. "We have supported Neighborhood House in many different ways over the years and will continue to look for ways to support them in the years ahead."
Visit Saint Paul was one of 150 businesses, corporations, faith organizations, schools, non-profits and groups who answered the call for help during the month. A total of 202,002 dollars and pounds were raised during the campaign.

The Roseville Visitors Association Launches New Website

The Roseville Visitors Association, the Destination Marketing Organization for Roseville, Minnesota, has just launched their brand new website www.visitroseville.com.
The Roseville Visitors Association partnered with MICROS and JackRabbit Systems for the new redesign. “The website boasts a modern, colorful design we are quite pleased with,” said Carrie Ford, Director of Sales and Marketing for the Roseville Visitors Association. “The new layout is extremely user friendly and well organized. It provides visitors with key travel information when coming to Roseville and the Minneapolis and Saint Paul area.”
The new website includes an enhanced Gallery View format on Book Direct™, updated restaurant and visitors’ maps and a new coupon section for incoming visitors to the area.
The Mission of the Roseville Visitors Association is to promote Roseville, MN as a destination by attracting meetings, conventions, and tourism; to contribute to the identity and economic well being of the City of Roseville; and to take a leadership role with community and business partners to provide an outstanding visitor experience.

Artifacts & Memorabilia Needed for Missouri State Penitentiary Museum

After nearly a year of planning and designing, the construction of the Missouri State Penitentiary (MSP) Museum is nearly finished. The space which will house the museum, located on the second floor of the Jefferson City Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) offices at 100 E. High St., has been transformed and the walls are now adorned with information and images relating to the historic prison."A lot of thought and hard work has gone into this project," said Jefferson City Convention & Visitors Bureau Executive Director Diane Gillespie. "Now all that is needed to complete the Museum are the prison artifacts and memorabilia we hope the residents of Missouri will be eager to provide."
The CVB is looking for items of interest that fall into one of four themes which make up the MSP Museum concept:

Prison Industries: to include anything made at the prison in the state-owned industries. Items may include license plates, tools, clothes worn by inmates or workers, specialized uniforms, employee ID badges, antique barrels or blacksmithing tools.
Contract Labor/Private Industries: to include anything made at privately-owned industries which used inmate labor such as the Tweedie Shoe Factory, A. Priesmeyer Shoe Company, Star Clothing Factory or H. Bockrath Shoe Company. Items may include estate or family heirlooms from workers (foremen/managers) whose family profited from the industries. Also items such as ID cards or lunch pails from workers who may have worked side by side with inmates.
Inside the Walls: to include any prison memorabilia from within the prison. Items may include personal items from inmates or corrections personnel such as badges, uniforms, art work, report cards or letters. Also items that may have come from the prison office, hospital or kitchen.
Control & Counter-Control: to include the strange and unusual items related to maintaining order at the prison or improper behavior at the prison. Items may include weapons carried by corrections personnel (line sticks, mace, cat-o-nine tails, etc) or confiscated contraband (shanks made by prisoners, brass knuckles, knives, tattooing tools, etc).

If you believe you have a one-of-a-kind artifact which fits into one of the four categories, please contact Sheila Sanford by phone at (573)632-2820 or email at sheila@visitjeffersoncity.com.

New events expected to add $4 million, 18,000 visitors to Quad-Cities in 2013

The Quad-Cities will host 27 new meetings, conventions and sports events in 2013 that will bring 18,576 visitors and $4 million to the local economy, according to The Quad Cities Convention & Visitors Bureau.
They also will generate more than 11,000 room nights at local hotels and motels, according to the QCCVB.
“Historically, the QCCVB generates an annual $9 million in group business to the Quad Cities hospitality community, Lynn Hunt, QCCVB vice-president of sales, said in a news release. "So we are on track to meet and hopefully exceed that goal with the events that are still in the sales pipeline to be confirmed.
Smith Travel Report -- which measures average occupancy, rates and other hotel related statistics, reports the Quad-Cities hotel market is running 1.7 percent higher in occupancy in 2012, Ms. Hunt said.
The new visitors start arriving in March and continue through November, with economic impact based on a conservative $89 per day spending per person, according to the QCCVB.
The largest -- the International Softball Congress World Tournaments Aug. 10-17 -- is expected to generate $1.783 million. Other major events, and their expected economic impact, include:
-- The USA BMX Nationals, July 19-21, $540,000
-- The Antique Automobile Association of American Grand National, June 26-30, $531,200
-- The Midwest Small Business Government Contracting Symposium, May 21-23, $174,300
-- The Society of American Military Engineers, Oct. 16-18, $100,800.
Other planned events include the Iowa State Square & Round Dance, March 15-16, $33,200; the Mississippi River Parkway Commission, April 25-27, $33,600; the Verein Duetsch Drahthaar Group annual meeting, June 7-8, $67,200; the Midwest Master Gardeners Conference, Sept. 19-21, $87,150; and the Midwest Social Workers Association, Nov. 7-8, $20,000
In 2011, leisure travel generated an economic impact of $776 million from more than one million visitors to the Quad-Cities. Tallies for 2012 are expected to be available later in 2013.
“Not only do meetings and sporting events have an economic impact on our area, but also annual festivals and events that are an integral part of our destination offerings,” Joe Taylor, QCCVB president/CEO, said in the release “Our festivals each year have a combined economic impact of over $20 million.”
The QCCVB operates visitor centers in The District in Rock Island; Bass Street Landing and Quad City International Airport in Moline; Union Station in Davenport; and Iowa 80 Trucking Museum in Walcott. Quad Cities travel information, a calendar of events and the Quad Cities Visitors Guide are online at visitquadcities.com.