NEW YORK— NYC & Company, the marketing arm for New York City, honored seven people for their contributions to the Big Apple’s visitor industry at the third annual Anchors of the Hospitality Industry Awards. Receiving the Convention Orchestration Award were: William Harris, CEO, 2004 Republican National Convention for overseeing the first ever Republican National Convention in New York City history. The GOP convention will bring more than 50,000 visitors here filling nearly 100,000 room nights, and is expected to drive more than $250 million into the city’s economy; and Peter Pantuso, President/CEO, American Bus Association for bringing his annual convention of more than 2,700 travel industry decision makers from the U.S. and Canada to New York for the first time this past January. Tim Tompkins, president/Times Square Alliance, won the Event Impresario Award for helping restore the Square as it celebrates its 100th Anniversary. The Exhibition Producers Award went to Elyse Kroll, president/ENK International, for elevating fashion trade shows to a thriving business that attracts 250,000 international retailers and media to New York City every year. Masami Shiraishi, president/CEO of JTB won the International Travel Award for his efforts to help promote New York City to the more than two million overseas travelers served annually by the JTB companies. Kathryn Beadle, sales and marketing director, Virgin Holidays, also won the award for her efforts in helping promote New York City to travelers who take one of the more than 30 flights to New York on Virgin airlines every week. And the Special Hospitality Industry Award went to Lalia Rach, Ed. D., associate dean/HVS International chair-Preston Robert Tisch Center for Hospitality, New York University, for her lifelong commitment to the hospitality industry. She has spent nearly 20 years in the industry and serves on numerous boards including that of NYC & Co. Award recipients are chosen for their commitment to New York by attracting visitors as well as hosting meetings, events, conventions and trade shows that bring more than $21 billion to the local economy each year.
