Boone Tavern Hotel in Berea and TourSEKY participating in European travel show to attract WEG visitors.

More than 20 boxes of information – brochures, dvds, giveaways and even admissions information for Berea College, have been sent to organizers of UTAZAS 2010 in Budapest, Hungary (“utazas” is the Hungarian word for “travel”), the country’s largest travel and tourism show and the leading tourism fair in central Europe.   The event scheduled March 4-7 presents all the regions of Hungary as well as almost 50 other countries to 42,000 visitors as well as 3,900 tour and travel operators.

Kirsten van Haaren, director of sales and marketing for Boone Tavern, initiated the international promotion project.  Berea College students  LeShea ­Dickerson and Nmadiuto Uche have been contacting U.S. Embassies worldwide to request their assistance in promoting Berea and the southeastern Kentucky region as a destination for travelers.  Their first success has been the U.S. Embassy in Budapest, which made the contact with UTAZAS 2010.

Historic Boone Tavern Hotel and Restaurant, owned by Berea College and staffed with students, is a popular Berea, Ky. landmark.  Newly-renovated as the first LEED Gold Level certified “green” hotel in Kentucky, this century-old hotel tastefully blends historic charm with modern amenities.   The Restaurant menu offers creative southern cuisine along with traditional favorites, such as “spoonbread.”   Boone Tavern is a member of both the Green Hotel Association and Historic Hotels of America and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  For more visit www.boonetavernhotel.com.

TourSEKY (Tour Southeast Kentucky) is a program of the Southern and Eastern Kentucky Tourism Development Association (SEKTDA), based in Somerset, Ky.