
CONTACT:
Molly Belmont, Marketing Director
Discover Albany
Phone: 518-434-1217 x 203
Email: mbelmont@albany.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 15, 2018
Discover Albany “blitzes” meeting planners aboard bikes
Hospitality professionals court local meeting planners during Discover Albany Bike Blitz
Albany, NY – The first annual Discover Albany Bike Blitz is going to be a “wheelie” great event!
The team has been training for weeks, and on Wednesday, May 16, Discover Albany will partner with hotels staff and CDTA to court local meeting planners on board CDTA CDPHP Cycle! bikes. At each stop, they’ll meet with planners, and talk about why Albany makes a great destination for meetings and conferences.
“Our team really wants to demonstrate that they have the energy and the know-how to make incredible meetings happen in Albany,” says Michele Vennard, President and CEO of Discover Albany. “They are taking it to the streets and calling on planners who used to hold meetings here, or who considered holding meetings here in the past. They will reintroduce them to all the wonderful venues and attractions we have here.”
The teams will use the CDTA CDPHP Cycle! bikes to make their visits. They’ll begin at the Palace Theatre bikeshare station at 9:30am, and fan out across downtown Albany, with their pitch for Albany, and gifts from local vendors, including Cider Belly Doughnuts, Nine Pin Cider, Fort Orange General Store, City Beer Hall, and Albany Institute of History & Art.
“CDPHP Cycle! offers our community a healthy, affordable and fun mode of transportation,” said Carm Basile, CDTA CEO. “CDTA offers a wide menu of mobility options for our region, and Cycle! is just the latest addition to make our area more attractive and vibrant to residents and visitors. CDPHP Cycle! is popular, productive, efficient, and it’s really the new way to get around our region.”
Meetings mean big business in Albany. Each conference brings in attendees who inject millions of dollars of spending into the local economy. According to the most recent economic impact numbers, visitors to Albany spent $968 million on hotels, dining, and shopping.
“They’re making those visits with hoteliers, so that meeting planners can really see that this whole destination is willing to work together to win their business,” says Vennard. “It matters to us. This is really where the rubber meets the road.”
ABOUT Discover Albany
The Albany County Convention & Visitors Bureau, Inc. was established in 1976 to promote the civic and commercial progress of the community through increased development of conventions and tourism. Today, the organization is known as Discover Albany. Discover Albany currently represents more than 300 member businesses and assists each year in hundreds of regional meetings. Discover Albany also operates the Albany Heritage Area Visitors Center, Henry Hudson Planetarium, and the Albany International Airport Information Center. The Albany County Convention and Visitors Bureau Foundation was established in 1993 to provide educational opportunities and work with other organizations to secure grants and funding to advance regional travel and tourism projects. For more information, call 518-434-1217 or 800-258-3582 or visit www.albany.org.
###