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I was so pleased to represent the Pocono Mountains and the State of Pennsylvania at US Travel Association's International Pow Wow held May 21-25, in San Francisco.  

A Pow Wow is the meeting of the minds from all walks of life and this Pow Wow held up to its reputation.  The Pocono Mountains was one destination among many as convention and visitors bureaus and tourism offices from all 50 states were represented, as well as from Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands.  Add in the international tour operators and journalists, combined, we totaled over 5,000 delegates.  The Moscone Center in San Francisco was the site for the international sandbox.

During pre-scheduled appointments, I pitched the Pocono Mountains to companies from the U.K., Germany, France, Spain, Sweden, Brazil, Japan, and China. Of course, I played up our proximity to New York and Philadelphia and enticed them with our natural assets and outdoor recreation. Remembering the summer days when playing in the sandbox was a great way to make new friends, I relate that to the trade show floor where over 70,000 business appointments took place in a matter of three days. I certainly made some new international business connections.  I encouraged the operators to send their friends (clients) to play in the Pocono Mountains a.k.a., an international playdate.  OK..I won't go that far.

In the meantime, I plan to brush up on my foreign language skills so we can welcome our new guests to the Pocono Mountains!  Guten Tag, Bienvenue, Bienvenido...Check back to see how we are doing on the language skills and more importantly our international visitation.