Business & Tech

Visit Bucks Highlights Importance of Social Media in Hospitality Industry

During National Travel & Tourism Week.

Visit Bucks County (VBC), the official tourism promotion agency of Bucks County, joined destinations across the United States to celebrate National Travel & Tourism Week by hosting a Social Media Seminar on Tuesday, May 10.

According to a release, more than 100 business professionals gathered at Peddler’s Village to hear Ben Grossman, Communications Strategist at Oxford Communications, speak on the importance of integrating social media and mobile-based solutions into traditional marketing efforts.

“With a following of more than 17,000 online users, Visit Bucks County has been embracing the revolutionary changes that have impacted the tourism and hospitality industry by speaking directly and interacting with the people that fuel our economy,” stated Jerry Lepping, Executive Director at Visit Bucks County. “Hosting this seminar during National Travel & Tourism Week was the perfect time to encourage the importance of this transition as well as the impact travel has on our economy.”

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With a recent addition of the Visit Bucks County mobile Web site and iPhone, Blackberry and Android app, technology is paving the way to inspire more visitors and locals to learn about and experience an unforgettable getaway to Bucks County.

"Historically, there has been a block up in many tourism marketers’ minds that said they should only market to out of town guests. Nothing could be farther from the truth with the advent of social media,” stated Ben Grossman, Communications Strategist at Oxford Communications. “The best way to generate ongoing third party recommendations that attract tourists is to develop a close relationship with locals who can evangelize your brand."

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The Social Media Seminar also acted as the launch of the Greater Philadelphia Chapter of the Social Media Breakfast Club. Co-founded with Oxford Communications, Visit Bucks County will host seminars throughout the year educating partners about the newest trends and best practices of social media.

VBC works with marketing partners and neighboring Visitor Bureaus in the five-county Philadelphia region to help drive nearly a billion dollars in economic impact and thousands of jobs supported by the hospitality industry.  Nationally, travel and tourism supports 14 million jobs across the nation.

Next month, Visit Bucks County will be announcing the distribution of $125,500 to twenty recipients through the Bucks County Tourism Grant Program.  Previous rounds have distributed a total of $803,000.


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