Texas Tourism a Focus at International Travel Convention
Space Station Crew Makes Surprise Visit
May 18, 2010 – Today is Texas Tuesday at the U.S. Travel Association’s International Pow Wow. The president of the Bay Area Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau (BAHCVB), Pam Summers, is in Orlando, Florida for this event, which is responsible for generating $3.5 billion in future travel expenditures, a portion of it bound for this region.
“The conference serves as the tourism industry’s premier event, where several thousand travel professionals and delegates from around the world converge,” said Summers. “It is on this day of the convention that Texas makes a huge promotional splash, touting all that the Lone Star State has to offer.”
Attendees received a special treat, courtesy of the International Space Station crew, when the astronauts took a break from their daily work activities to send a video message to participants of the Texas Tuesday luncheon. “We are talking to you from 220 miles above the Earth onboard the International Space Station,” stated members of the Expedition 23 team. “As far away as we are, our hearts are never far from our homes and families in Texas.”
The space-themed celebration reflected on the amazing technological and scientific discoveries made throughout the nation’s five decades of exploration, much of it managed from Houston’s Johnson Space Center. Upon special request of the Economic Development and Tourism Division of the Office of the Governor, BAHCVB was asked to facilitate the message from the space station and obtain a NASA Apollo-era space suit that was donned by the travel association’s president for the occasion.
“We are proud of our role in this event, and grateful to the dedicated staff in JSC’s public affairs office that helped us secure this video message from our nation’s orbiting outpost,” concluded Summers. “The astronaut greeting proclaimed their love of Texas, and helped spotlight what NASA and the Bay Area Houston region have to offer our visitors.”
About the Bay Area Houston Convention & Visitors Bureau
The Bay Area Houston Convention & Visitors Bureau (BAHCVB) is the destination marketing management organization for the region surrounding Clear Lake and Galveston Bay. Launched in 2001, the 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization seeks to actively increase awareness of the region as a premier tourism destination for leisure, meetings and business. For more information on leisure destinations and/or meeting accommodations in Bay Area Houston, call (281) 474-9700 or visit www.visitbayareahouston.com. |
