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Newsroom
Houston Airport System
October 27, 2008
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“I was born with a silver propeller in my mouth,” said Anne Chalfant, travel writer for the North Carolina Herald.
When she was growing up, her dad was a VP at United Airlines, so she has traveled all her life. Chalfant was one of the 400 plus writers, spouses, public relations specialists and sponsors attending the 53rd annual Society of American Travel Writers convention in Houston recently.
“I’ve been so impressed with Houston. The best was a bike ride with Mayor Bill White. We were out there at six in the morning, we stopped by Howard Hughes’ grave and saw the city skyline, it was wonderful,” gushed Chalafant, “About 30 of us felt like we were the posse out checking on Houston. We saw some storm damage from Hurricane Ike, and just got a great view of the city that way.”
With recent estimates of more than $1 billion in damage from Hurricane Ike, visitors gained a new respect for the massive clean up effort.
“I would definitely say that Houston has a lot going for it, particularly in light of post Hurricane Ike,” said Gary Cralle of the Toronto Travel Magazine. “I must say I’m quite surprised. Houston is a dynamic, forward-thinking city. I’m quite impressed.”
Both Cralle and Chalfant raved about the amazing tours for the delegates during the five day convention. Breakfast at Minute Maid Park, a golf Tournament at Memorial Park, a Culinary Journey in the Park at Discovery Green, an up-close-and-personal view of the white tigers at the Downtown Aquarium and an Opening Reception in the Galleria would make anyone feel like they were treated like royalty.
The Houston Airport System Customer Relations and Communications Departments along with airport volunteers played a role in greeting the writers at George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) and William P. Hobby Airport (HOU). They also arranged transportation to the host hotel downtown at the Hilton Americas and distributed press packages highlighting the 6th largest airport system in the country. |
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 Hundreds of travel writers explored Houston. |
Lindsey Brown, Marketing Director of the Greater Houston Convention and Visitors bureau says this convention will provide Houston with publicity, which they hope will boost tourism and conventions in the future. With the economy facing an uphill battle, the travel industry could take a hit, but the Bayou City still has an edge with its Houston hospitality and the depth and breath of what the city has to offer.
Laura Daily, President of Society of American Travel Writers said, ”The past three conventions have seen more than 150 stories, photos, internet postings, broadcasts, etc. which have each generated as much as $3 million in ad value and as much as $10 million in publicity value.”
They hope Houston will do as well in the next 24 months as a result of all the story and photos opportunities.
By the way, in order to be a great travel writer, you have to possess a gift to be able to transport your readers to another place.
Cralle’s passion began when he was a little boy in Canada.
“My father had a set of very thick British books for boys and the series was called Chums. The one thing that really fascinated me about these books was the adventure that these boys would have when they traveled, that has always stuck in my mind," said Cralle. "And when I think back, that was the stimulus.”
Chalfant, started as a journalist and switched to a travel writer, she intends to paint a Picasso-inspired picture of Houston.
“The other highlight for me was the Space Center and I just found that very moving, it brought tears in my eyes, “said Chalfant, “I’ll be coming back to this town.”
Copyright © 2008 Houston Airport System |
