The Pittsburgh CVB just hired a new communications director on Monday. Wasn't me, although I was interested (just in case).
I mention that in the context that Pittsburgh's doing OK for bookings when compared to similar cities. Like Cincinnati, which just laid off 1/3 of their employees.
From EXPO Magazine:
Part of the savings, $125,000, will be set aside to form an incentives fund the bureau can use to lure events to Cincinnati. The city has never set aside funds to cover perks such as free convention center rent or complimentary shuttle buses.
The rest of the funds will be used to create a separate tourism entity in cooperation with Northern Kentucky. They'll pool resources to pay for advertising and marketing that promote the region as a whole.
Can you really do much with $125,000? That's like tip money in Chicago ;-)
But the idea of getting together with Northern Kentucky sounds pretty smart. Northern Kentucky has some great marketing and considering it's Northern Kentucky (go ahead, name a town there other than Covington off the top of your head) they do a remarkable job of bringing in events.
Before it became known as the "Queen City" or "River City", Cincinnati used to be known as Porkopolis. With the CVB cutting to the bone, looks like that name is out for good.
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