CONNECT The Event

WHAT: Selling Travel Connect: Cincy Region, USA

WHERE: London

WHEN: June 7, 2023

WHO: Cincy Region & British Airways

Agents from London and beyond sampled the best of what the Cincy Region has to offer at the Selling Travel Connect: Cincy event on June 7.

The event saw 40 agents gather in London’s Caledonian Club to learn more about selling the U.S. region, which consists of Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana, and celebrate the new direct flight from London Heathrow to Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG) with British Airways, launched on June 5.

The five-times-a-week summer service takes just short of nine hours and will revert to a four-times-weekly service in the winter months.

DID You k Now

German design: One in every four local residents claims German heritage in the Cincy Region, and it hosts the largest Oktoberfest in the U.S.

Total eclipse: For the first time in hundreds of years, the path of totality (a total eclipse) will cross Ohio from southwest to northeast on April 8, 2024, passing through cities like Cleveland, Akron and just outside Cincinnati.

Light up: The Cincy Region is ranked one of the most ‘Vibrant Art Cities in America’. It has more than 200 pieces of public art and is home to BLINK, a light experience which attracts 2 million visitors.

Taking the first brand new direct flight from Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport to London Heathrow, members of the Cincy Region team, including Julie Kirkpatrick, Cincy Region CEO, Gina Christ-Kohler, Regional Sales Director and Maija Zummo, Communications Manager, joined agents in London to celebrate the new flight and provide an update on the region and its selling appeal.

The Cincy team were keen to discuss details of the new flight, which operates five times per week in the summer season and four in the winter. It is also currently the only direct service between the UK and Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana.

“This flight has been a long time coming,” said Kirkpatrick. “It is something that we felt was missing in the region and we are looking forward to showcasing our special Cincy Region story in the UK and fulfilling tourism’s commitment to bring new international visitors to this unique gateway, with hopes of quadrupling visitation from the UK as a result.”

Hit The Road

Speaking of the wider potential of the new route, Kirkpatrick said: “I think the story of this conjoined region was very intriguing to British Airways. It offers visitors the chance to either venture further north and depart from Chicago or explore further south and depart out of Nashville.”

Selling the region as part of a wider road trip was something that appealed to Jo McPherson from Hays Travel, with major cities including Pittsburgh, Chicago and