February 12, 2008

For Immediate Release
Contact: Eron Shosteck
Phone: 202-218-7220

WASHINGTON -- The American Bus Association Marketplace in Virginia Beach Feb. 2-7 set records for registration across the board in every delegate member category, producing the most heavily attended Marketplace in the event's 27-year history.

"'Super Tuesday' took place during Marketplace, when 24 states voted on February 5th," ABA President and CEO Peter J. Pantuso said. "There were 3,156 political party delegates at stake that day. During Marketplace, we had a total of 3,300 ABA registered delegates in attendance in Virginia alone. Although political party delegates and ABA Marketplace serve much different functions, the number really puts the scope of our annual show into perspective."

The Marketplace delegates included nearly 700 registered buyers, more than 700 destination marketing organizations (DMOs), nearly 700 lodging representatives, nearly 900 attraction representatives, and more than 200 associate members, including suppliers and manufacturers. Each category represented showed record numbers, and more than 100,000 scheduled appointments were conducted on the business floor during the show.

This year's Marketplace, which took place at the new Virginia Beach Convention Center, was also the greenest Marketplace ever. The Virginia Beach facility has been certified by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality as a "Green Facility," meeting strict criteria for eco-friendliness, including recyclable paper towels and auto-dimming lights on the show floor. Nearly all of the 14 motorcoaches on the show floor were EPA compliant for the strict emissions regulations adopted in 2007.

"Between the business appointments, networking opportunities, and educational seminars, we successfully conducted the brisk business that everyone expects to get out of the Marketplace experience," Pantuso added. "With the salute to the military, the Marketplace Gives Back $25,000 donation to the American Cancer Society, the outreach to underprivileged students, the ABA Foundation auctions, and the sightseeing and evening events, we showed why we keep growing every year as the premier event in the group travel community."

For the first time, ABA posted in real-time on buses.org the Marketplace Dailies published during the show. More than 100 new photos from the show are also on the ABA website for viewing and printing.

Marketplace travels in 2009 to Charlotte, the Capital Region surrounding Washington in 2010, Philadelphia in 2011 and Grapevine, Texas in 2012, site of the 2007 event.

The American Bus Association is the trade organization of the intercity bus industry with more than 1000 motorcoach owner and tour company members in the United States and Canada. Its members operate charter, tour, regular route, airport express, special operations and contract services. Another 2,600 members are travel and tourism organizations and suppliers of bus products and services who work in partnership with the North American motorcoach industry.