James E. McGreevey
Governor

William D. Watley
Secretary of Commerce

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Karen Wolfe - 609.292.2523

PULLING TOGETHER FOR BIG TIME RESULTS

Governor's Conference On Tourism Focuses on 'One State…Many Possibilities'

Trenton, N.J. (March 14, 2003)—New Jersey's 2003 Governor's Conference on Tourism, this year scheduled for April 10 & 11 at the Trump Marina Hotel Casino in Atlantic City, will focus on cooperative regional efforts to maximize limited funds for big returns. One State…Many Possibilities will emphasize the state's phenomenal diversity, many tourist attractions and the varied resources for marketing and promoting.

Conference participants will be welcomed by William Watley, chief executive, officer & secretary, New Jersey Commerce; Nancy Byrne, executive director, New Jersey Office of Travel & Tourism; and Robert Patterson, president, New Jersey Travel Industry Association, the conference's main sponsors.

"With tourism our second largest industry, we want to encourage and assist our many entities involved in this vital field," says Nancy Byrne, executive director of the Office of Travel & Tourism. "By bringing together this forum, we can all share what works, what doesn't and how to expand our reach to attract more visitors to the Garden State. No matter what the economy, people need vacations, and with most of the traveling public now planning domestic trips, the time is ripe to grab a big share of those travelers."

According to Byrne, this conference has become one of the state's most important tourism industry events. "It's a venue to explore and develop ways of attracting visitors to a state that may be small, but has an amazing number of diverse attractions. Yes, we're known for our beaches and Atlantic City, but those are only portions of our attractions. From our mountains and wetlands for eco-tourism to our historic sites, many of which have been preserved from pre-revolutionary times, to the fun and sun of our 127 miles of beachfront, we've got so much to offer here."

The two-day conference will cover multiple areas of the tourism industry through a series of symposia and workshops. Governor James E. McGreevey will be the luncheon speaker on Thursday, April 10. Honorees in nine categories will be recognized for their contributions to state tourism. The categories are: advertising/marketing/PR campaign; economic development; eco-tourism; elected official leadership; heritage tourism; multi-cultural, partnership; special events and a Pinnacle Award of Excellence, recognizing an individual who has worked for the betterment of state tourism as a whole.

Day One sessions will include delivering exceptional customer service and advertising with a small or no budget. Day Two sessions will address sexual harassment, courses of study for the hospitality industry, getting and keeping employees, packaging with other tourism entities in the state, legislative and legal issues, crisis management and communications, customer relations (especially in bad situations), sponsorships (how to get them and make them work). Senator Jon Corzine is the invited guest speaker at the Marketplace Luncheon on Friday, April 11.

For further information, contact the NJ Travel Industry Association at (609) 396-2020 or the New Jersey Office of Travel & Tourism at (609) 292-2470 or download the registration form from the website at www.visitnj.org

New Jersey encompasses less than 9,000 square miles, but it's surprisingly diverse, combining the best of metropolitan sophistication with rural farmlands, rivers and mountains are all accessible within a few hours. Ocean beaches stretch 127 miles, from Cape May Point to Sandy Hook. Vast expanses of forever-green acres are exemplified in the 70,000-acre Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area and 1.1-million-acre Pine Barrens Reserve. There are mountains for skiing and climbing; trails for hiking, towns for shopping and culture. While super highways, express buses, trains and ferries provide quick and direct access into New York City and Philadelphia, back roads wind through historic hamlets, farmlands and pristine forests. Along the way are botanic gardens, historic architecture, museums, sporting events, gaming casinos and kids' action parks. New Jersey is a vacation destination for the best days of your life!