PHILADELPHIA…January 4, 2011… More than 3,000 members of the group travel industry will convene in Philadelphia at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, January 8-12 for the American Bus Association's (ABA) Marketplace – the largest business-to-business convention in the industry. According to the Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau (PCVB), the ABA convention is expected to utilize a total of 10,840 room nights and generate an estimated $10.8 million in economic impact for Philadelphia. Attendees include tour operators, itinerary planners and other bulk “buyers” of travel and tourism services who have the decision-making power to steer group tours to Philadelphia.

According to the ABA, the convention host city can expect to increase its group tourism business by an estimated ten to 25 percent as a result of hosting the show. A fully loaded motorcoach (40 passengers on average) on a charter or tour making an overnight stay contributes an average of $5,000 to $13,000 per day to the local economy in expenditures including meals, lodging, shopping, admission fees, souvenirs, and local taxes.

“We hope that through sightseeing trips, attendance at the evening events held at member museums and restaurants and our presence at our huge host city booth on the tradeshow floor will show attendees that there is more to do here in the Philadelphia region than they might have thought,” said Fritz Smith, vice president of tourism, PCVB. “We greatly appreciate the substantial support from our participating sponsors including the Pennsylvania Tourism Office, Pennsylvania Association of Convention & Visitors Bureaus (PACVB), and many other PCVB members and colleagues from throughout the region.”

The group tour market is a growing for the Philadelphia region. In 2009, 36,750 hotel rooms were booked in Philadelphia and 35,654 hotel rooms were booked in the countryside. The PCVB sales team generated more than 500 sales leads and serviced more than 1,000 clients. Also, in the past few years, Philadelphia has been rated as one of the “top 10 Motorcoach Destinations in North America” by Byways magazine and one of the top “CVB's That Work's Hardest for Groups,” by the ABA.

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About the Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau

The Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau (PCVB), www.PhiladelphiaUSA.travel, a private non-profit corporation, is the City of Philadelphia's primary sales organization. The mission of the PCVB is to market Philadelphia as a convention, meeting and tourist destination to regional, national and international audiences. Focusing on the meetings and conventions business and the travel trade, the PCVB's sales force works diligently to increase the city's hotel occupancy and average daily rate, while concurrently affecting other segments of the hospitality industry.

About the ABA

The American Bus Association is the trade organization of the intercity bus industry with more than 1000 motorcoach owner and tour company members in the United States and Canada. Its members operate charter, tour, regular route, airport express, special operations and contract services. Another 2,600 members are travel and tourism organizations and suppliers of bus products and services who work in partnership with the North American motorcoach industry.

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