LIKES WHAT OBAMA SAID ABOUT INCREASING TOURISM TO USA
NYC & Company is pleased with President Obama's emphasis on
increasing tourism to the United States. As the official tourism and mar- keting agency for New York City, NYC & Company believes that increasing the number of visitors to the United States will be a huge boost to the city and national economies, providing new jobs and stim- ulating spending. We have long advocated for visa reform measures to increase the number of international tourists to New York City, and are pleased that President Obama has joined in this effort. We applaud President Obama's push to accelerate the ability to process and expand the number of visas in growing markets such as China, India, and Brazil, as well as his call to expand the Global Entry Program. We believe visa reform measures have the ability to create over one million new jobs nation-wide and generate billions more in revenue, and applaud the President's call to accelerate and expand visa issuing and processing in emerging global markets to achieve these goals. As the nation's number one city tourist destination with more than 50 million visitors in 2011, these gains will especially benefit New York City. We hope to work with the Obama Administration and elected officials in con- tinuing to make travel to our great city easier and more attractive to for- eign tourists as we look to push beyond the 50 million tourist mark and create more jobs in the coming year. George Fertitta CEO NYC & Company New York, NY
Continued from page 11 http://www.caribbeanhotelandtourism.com.
April 26-29 Mexico Showcase & Travel Expo 2012, Cancun, MX. http://mexicoshowcase.com
April 27 5th Annual LGBT Marketing Conference, New York, NYC. www.communitymarketinginc.com
April 27-28 Ethnic Marketing: How to Target the Multicultural Consumer, New York, NY. www.scps.nyu.edu/coursedetail-- /X50.9267/20111
April 30-May 2 International Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine Convention, Sarawak, Malaysia. http://wfas- 2012malaysia.com/
May 1-3 2012 Association International Conference and the Springtime Expo, Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Washington, DC. For more information, visit www.imnsolu- tions.com.
May 2-4 2012 Association Of Hispanic Advertising Agencies (AHAA) Annual Conference, Miami, FL. www.ahaa.org
May 6-9 Institute for Supply Management's 97th Annual International Supply Management Conference and Education Exhibit, Baltimore, MD. (800) 888-6276 or www.ism.ws
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SO HAPPY TO RECONNECT I can hardly thank you enough for bring Black Meetings & Tourism
back into my life. Years ago when Frank and I first "discovered" the national park system, I was able to share our enthusiasm with the pub- lishers of BM&T at several tourism meetings. Mr. and Mrs. Herbert were always radiant and enthusiastic about promoting African Americans as a key demographic in the American travel market, whose destinations at the time did not include the national parks. Fifteen years later, I feel that we have come full circle, with you
reaching back to the parks...hallelujah!! And it couldn't be a more oppor- tune time, as the National Park Service prepares for its Centennial in 2016 in a vastly more diverse America than when the system was established. Thank you, John and Shelton and the team, for your inspired show-
ing that stoked BM&T's interest.... Now I clearly see the day coming when African-Americans – as all
Americans – know, love and celebrate our national parks and share equally in the spiritual, cultural and economic benefits that they repre- sent.. Audrey Peterman President Earthwise Productions, Inc. Atlanta, GA
May 8-10 International CTIA Wireless 2012 Show, Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, New Orleans, LA. www.ctia.org.
May 17-20 TPOC 10th Anniversary Conference, DoubleTree Denver Hotel, Denver, CO. (303) 343-0342 or (866) 901-1259
May 11-12 2011 Power Awards Weekend, sponsored by American Heart Association's Power to End Stroke, New York, NY. powertoendstroke.org
May 16-17 2012 Asian American Advertising Federation (3AF) Conference, Las Vegas, NV. http://3af.org/index.htm
May 16-18 St. Maarten Annual Regional Trade Show (SMART), Radisson Blue Resort, Marina & Spa, St. Martin. More informa- tion about SMART 2012 can be found at http://www.shta.- com/smart.
May 18-22 Africa Travel Association's 37th Annual World Congress, Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. www.AfricaTravelAssocia- tion.org
May 23-27 12th Annual New York Indian Film Festival, New York, NY. www.iaac.us/NYIFF2012
May 23-26 Black Enterprise Entrepreneurs Conference + Expo, Chicago, IL. www.blackenterprise.com/events/entrepreneurs- conference
June 15-17 TBEX '12 (Travel Blog Exchange) conference, Keystone, CO. www.keystoneresort.com/tbex2012
Continued on page 26 Black Meetings & Tourism January/February 2012: www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com
