Niagara USA to host Pennsylvania Bus Association annual meeting

The Niagara Tourism & Convention Corporation will host more than 175 motorcoach operators, tour planners, bus manufacturers and travel suppliers at the Seneca Niagara Hotel & Casino from June 14-17 for the Pennsylvania Bus Association Annual Meeting and Sales Retreat.

PBA is a non-profit coalition of motorcoach stakeholders, which works toward promoting travel through motorcoach, charter and tour services in cooperation with various destinations such as Niagara USA. 

The 2011 PBA Annual Meeting and Sales Retreat is a unique opportunity for the NTCC to showcase the many treasures found in Niagara County. Due to Pennsylvania's proximity and high volume of motor coach operators, this conference has the potential to result in a tremendous return on investment for the tourism industry stakeholders here in Niagara County.
 
"We are eager to partner with the Pennsylvania Bus Association and hope to leverage this annual meeting into sustained tourism opportunities here in the Niagara USA region," said John H. Percy, president and CEO of the NTCC. "We have organized several familiarization tours, which will take these key motorcoach operators to the numerous, unique offerings found only here in Niagara USA."

The NTCC will offer five familiarization tours during the course of the three-day meeting. They are as follows:

• Tuesday: "Taste of Niagara" (Wine Trail tour -- Vizcarra Vineyards at Becker Farms, Marjim Manor)
• Wednesday: "Wet and Wild" (Whirlpool Jet Boat Tours) "Wet, But Not So Wild" (Niagara Falls State Park tour)
• Thursday: "Somewhere in Time" (history tour); "Niagara Treasures" ("It's Free Tour")

Aside from familiarization tours, educational programs for motorcoach operators and travel suppliers will be held on Wednesday and Thursday. Wednesday's seminars will feature Percy hosting a panel of local travel suppliers discussing the topic "Partnering Together to Face Our Future" and Niagara University's Dr. Jan van Harssel will host a seminar discussing "Quality Service Leadership: Making Employees Feel Valued; Making Guests Feel Welcomed!"

The 2011 PBA event in Niagara Falls is expected to be one of largest in the 26-year history of the PBA conference. In recent years the conference has been held in Pocono, Pa., Atlantic City, N.J., and Chesapeake, Va.