A partnership of local tourism businesses, the Caveland Marketing Association, is bringing the 3rd annual Cave Area Celebration back to the Cave City Convention Center on Wednesday, March 24. The free event is designed to help local employees learn about the tourism attractions in the area.

Booths set up in the convention center will have information about the area attractions and what is new for the 2010 season. “The cave region is the state’s hottest tourism area,” says Hart County Tourist Commission Executive Director Sandra Wilson. “And we want to make sure the people who work with the public are familiar with all we have to offer so they can share that information.”

The event runs from 10 am until 6 pm, and attendees should plan to spend about an hour browsing the booths and viewing a customer service video. Attendees will also receive customer service tips and get a free pass to about 20 local attractions. “The Cave Area Passes we give away are very popular,” says Coni Shepperd, Marketing Director for the Munfordville Tourist Commission. “They give people the opportunity to take a guest and see the attractions for free.”

“Tourism is a vital part of the economy of our area,” says Ann Stewart, Executive Director of the Glasgow/Barren County Tourist & Convention Commission. “Tourism dollars bring jobs to our area, and we want to see that continue. We want to make sure that in these tough economic times everyone in the Caveland area has visited our attractions so they can welcome our visitors and help make their experiences memorable.”

 “Attractions in our area sell more than 2 million tickets each year,” says Brian Dale, Executive Director of the Cave City Convention Center & Tourist Bureau. Tourists not only visit local attractions, they also eat in local restaurants, shop at local stores, stay in local motels, swim in local lakes and pools, hike on local trails and enjoy the beauty of the cave region. “Tourism added more than $11 billion to the state’s economy again last year. It brought more than $400 million and 5,000 jobs to our region last year,” says Dale.   

In addition to the informational booths, there will also be a job fair booth where attendees can fill out a job application for a tourism-related job.

The Celebration is sponsored by the Caveland Marketing Association, a group of local tourism organizations and businesses that work together to attract tourists to the area. For more information, call Tonya at (270) 773-3131.