The Buffalo Niagara Convention & Visitors Bureau, working in collaboration with the National Buffalo Wing Festival, took its mobile visitor center and plenty of hot, medium and mild wings on the road last week on a tourism barnstorming tour to Erie, Pittsburgh, Columbus and Cleveland. �The Road to Buffalo Tour 2004� served up tasty wings, visitor guides, hotel packages and a sample of Buffalo-style hospitality, all in honor of the 40th anniversary of the invention of the chicken wing at the Anchor Bar in 1964.

Crowds converged on the caravan at each stop and television, radio and newspaper outlets in each market reported on Buffalo�s great food, friendly people and summer festivals. The Chicken Wing Challenge was a crowd favorite as Wing Festival eating champion Sonya Thomas beat back a throng of would-be title holders to retain her top rank status in the world of competitive eating.

�This was a home run for Buffalo, for the Wing Festival and for the local tourism industry,� said Richard Geiger, President and CEO of the Buffalo Niagara Convention & Visitors Bureau. �We met thousands of people along the way and reached thousands more through radio and television interviews and newspaper articles. This was creative public relations and marketing at its best.�

The highlight of the week was a special feature about the 40th anniversary celebration on the June 27th CBS News Sunday Morning show. Host Charles Osgood narrated a brief segment highlighting the kick-off festivities in Niagara Square and the history of the chicken wing. USA Today and the Associated Press also carried articles about the Tour.

�We�re Buffalo, we have to try harder,� said Wing Festival founder Drew Cerza. �We took some of the fun, friendly, and slightly off-the-wall flavor of Buffalo on the road and it was a hit. The crowds loved it and the media�s always looking for a good story. Last week, we gave them one.�

The Buffalo Niagara Convention & Visitors Bureau, as the marketing leader of the Buffalo Niagara hospitality industry, promotes our region worldwide as a convention, amateur athletics, tourism, leisure and business destination for the economic benefit of the community.

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Media Contact: Nancy Vargo +1 716-852-0511 nvargo@buffalocvb.org