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Hotel boss sells Eastbourne to Vegas EASTBOURNE hotel manager Jonathan Webley has been spreading the word about the town at one of the world's top luxury travel networking events held in Las Vegas As a result of putting Eastbourne on the map, several American travel agencies have already made bookings for the town they knew nothing about until the general manger of the five-star Grand Hotel attended the Virtuoso Travel Mart. This year's eveADVERTISEMENTnt attracted a record attendance of nearly 2,800 travel industry professionals from 102 countries. Under the bright lights of the Nevada desert city that never sleeps, Jonathan had no less than 450 one-to-one meetings over four days, introducing travel agents to Eastbourne and the Grand Hotel. To illustrate his point Jonathan, who is a keen photographer, took along a selection of his own pictures of the town. "Whilst we attend a number of industry events throughout the year this was the first time the Grand had been showcased at the Travel Mart," said Jonathan. "It was certainly an experience. There were very few suppliers from the UK at the event, which really helped me to turn the focus on Eastbourne. "Most of the people I spoke to had never heard about the town before but they were all very receptive to hear what it had to offer and enjoyed looking at the photographs. "After I got back I was very pleased when several bookings started to come in as a result of the meetings and I hope this will pave the way to introduce Eastbourne to an even wider audience." Membership of Virtuoso is by invitation only and the organisation comprises more than 300 travel agents, luxury travel providers and destinations around the globe. |
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