VCB markets destination at 42nd annual Pow Wow

In May, the Lee County Visitor & Convention Bureau (VCB) once again participated in International Pow Wow, hosted by the United States Travel Association (USTA) in Orlando. More than 5,000 people attended the trade show, an increase of 5 percent over last year’s attendance.

The five-day event is the travel industry's premier international marketplace, where buyers and sellers are able to conduct business that otherwise would be generated only through an exhaustive number of around-the-world trips. It is the largest generator of Visit USA travel.

Lee County Commissioner and Tourist Development Council Chairwoman Tammy Hall, Lee County Manager Karen Hawes, VCB Executive Director Tamara Pigott and other VCB staff members attended Pow Wow to market Lee County. Several industry partners joined them, including representatives of Universal Vacations, Pink Shell Beach Resort & Spa, Sanibel Harbour Marriott Resort & Spa and Outrigger Beach Resort. Olympian Nick VandenBrekel assisted the group in promoting the new Art of the Olympians Museum and Gallery in Fort Myers.

More than 1,000 U.S. travel organizations and nearly 1,500 international and domestic travel buyers from more than 70 countries participate in Pow Wow each year. An estimated $4 billion in sales were generated during the event.

VCB Communications Director Nancy Hamilton and Olympian Nick VandenBrekel talk
with Bjørn Moholdt, editor-in-chief, REISER & FERIE, Norway.

The Lee County delegation at International Pow Wow 2010, from left are: Tamara Pigott, VCB; Keith Watson, Universal Vacations; Jo Piani and Nancy Hamilton, VCB; Gary Young, Universal Vacations; Katja Kunz, Pink Shell Beach Resort & Spa; Peter Hannaford, VCB; Colleen DeGuzman, Sanibel Harbour Marriott Resort & Spa; Vera Sommer, VCB; and Jeanne Bigos, Outrigger Beach Resort.

VCB Tourism Sales Manager Erick Garnica meets with a tour operator.

VCB Executive Director Tamara Pigott and Tourism Sales Manager
Erick Garnica meet with a tour operator.

Attending the VCB client event during Pow Wow 2010, from left are: Lee County Manager Karen Hawes, Olympian Nick VandenBrekel, Lee County Commissioner and Tourist Development Council
Chairwoman Tammy Hall and Lee County VCB Executive Director Tamara Pigott.

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