Texas Gridiron Kickoff presented by USA Football Launches 2011 Football Season
The Austin Sports Commission hosts the fourth annual Texas Gridiron Kickoff, featuring University of Texas Longhorns Head Coach Mack Brown, on Wednesday, August 3 at the Austin Convention Center. Presented by USA Football, the event launches the Central Texas high school and college football season and offers fans an opportunity to hear from the coaches who will be on the sidelines in 2011. Craig Way, the "Voice of the Longhorns", serves as emcee and reveals the 2011 Austin American-Statesman Preseason All-Centex Team. Then, University of Texas Longhorns coaching staff Mack Brown (Head Coach), Manny Diaz (Defensive Coordinator), and Major Applewhite and Brian Harsin (Offensive Coordinators) reveal what fans can expect to see from the Longhorns in 2011.
The event is open to the public. Individual tickets are $55 per person. A table of 10 (general seating) is $500. Or, for those interested in a close encounter with an up-and-coming football star, sponsorships of $750 are available for preferred seating with an Austin American-Statesman Preseason All Centex Team player and coach. Registration information is available at www.austinsports.org.
HITEC brings together the latest in hospitality and technology
HITEC (Hospitality Industry Technology Exposition and Conference) 2011 is the world's largest hospitality technology exposition and conference. Taking place from June 20-23 at the Austin Convention Center, the conference offers attendees essential education, access to experts and hospitality technology vendors, the opportunity to network with top leaders in the industry and the resources to find cost-effective ways to improve company bottom lines. Programming highlights include:
• High-profile keynote speakers like Facebook Director of Market Development, Randi Zuckerberg
• 9 Super Sessions - part of a specially selected education program based on the top industry technology trends
• Exhibit Hall with more than 300 companies showcasing the latest technologies
• TechTours - a hands-on tour of the hottest technologies on the show floor
• A Texas-style Welcome Reception sponsored by HFTP, producers of HITEC
In addition, attendees can engage in a comprehensive social media campaign to enhance the conference experience. Follow HITEC on twitter and on Facebook. Register at www.hitec.org.
Austin CVB sells Texas' capital city at International Pow Wow and IMEX
The Austin CVB Sales and Tourism departments recently traveled to San Francisco and Frankfurt to sell the city as a premier meetings and leisure travel destination.
Austin CVB Senior Vice President, Roy Benear attended the IMEX travel trade show in conjunction with Texas Tourism, May 23-26, in Frankfurt, Germany. IMEX is the essential worldwide exhibition for incentive travel, meetings and events. With over 3,500 exhibitors representing 157 countries, IMEX attracts more than 9,000 trade visitors including 3,700 hosted buyers. The Texas stand met with more than 120 buyers over the three-day show. Austin showcased its list of accolades, extensive hotel offering and recent developments with its new Formula 1 racing facility, Circuit of the Americas.
The ACVB Tourism team attended the U.S. Travel Association's International Pow Wow recently in San Francisco. International Pow Wow is the travel industry's premier international marketplace and the largest generator of Visit USA travel attracting more than 5,000 attendees. In just three days of intensive pre-scheduled business appointments, the ACVB team met with 44 International and domestic buyers from top markets and 40 members of the media.
The Radisson Hotel Austin Town Lake joined the ACVB booth at Pow Wow. Attending the show for the last four years, the hotel continues to build on its successful efforts in international leisure markets.
Austin CVB Annual Luncheon Report
The Austin CVB recently welcomed around 700 members of the local hospitality community to recognize the power of travel and tourism during the Bureau's fifth Annual Luncheon at the Austin Convention Center.
The program kicked off with an educational seminar by Martin Stoll, founder of the GoSeeTell Network, on what's new and next in social media for the travel industry. Afterward, the luncheon featured an Austin music extravaganza with performances by Brennan Leigh, Dale Watson, Erin Ivey, Haydn Vitera and more, to showcase the power and diversity of the local music scene and recognize how music is a major driver of tourism in Austin. In addition, Mayor Lee Leffingwell presented winners of the Austin High School photography and multimedia contests; and Bob Lander, president and CEO of the Austin CVB, presented the Bruce Walcutt Spirit of Hospitality Award to Mike Shea, executive director of the SXSW Music, Film and Interactive Conferences and Festivals. In its 25 years as Austin's largest annual music event, SXSW has brought millions of visitors to Austin and generated economic impact on an ongoing basis.
To close out the luncheon, keynote speaker Peter Yesawich, chairman and CEO of the YPartnership, provided key insights on how travelers are booking vacations online; how destinations can capitalize on their natural assets (for Austin, the music scene); and how the hospitality industry should plan to adapt to the changing needs of travelers in the future.
Austin CVB announces staff changes
In the Convention Sales department, Dane Piper is the Austin CVB's new business development manager. In this role, Piper oversees promotion of meetings industry events, research meetings leads and disseminate new opportunities among account directors and members of the local hospitality community. Piper initially joined the Bureau in 2011 as convention sales coordinator; Kelly Thomas has been hired to fill the convention sales coordinator position. She supports the executive meetings management team, as well as the Texas and Eastern region account directors.
Courtney Sculley has been named international account manager. Sculley responds to international leisure travel trade and meetings leads, facilitates visits to Austin by global travel trade representatives, and services these accounts on the ground in Austin.
In Convention Services, Jerry Esters, who joined the Bureau in 2009 as convention housing coordinator, has moved into the associate housing manager position. Esters assists convention attendees with finding local accommodations, and serves as a liaison between convention clients and hotels.
