PA Family Travel Fair Goes Virtual
When Wendy Royal, editor of Where & When Pennsylvania and organizer of the third PA Family Travel Fair, realized that the 2020 fair, which was scheduled for April 18, would have to be canceled due to COVID-19 restrictions, she was heartbroken for the more than 50 exhibitors. When she learned that all of them were committed to doing the 2021 event, she wanted to do something to help them.
On April 21, Royal finalized plans to take the fair virtual starting during National Travel and Tourism Week, which was held from May 3 to 9. The virtual PA Family Travel Fair launched on May 4 and will continue through Saturday, May 30. The virtual fair can be accessed at http://www.whereandwhen.com/virtual-pa-family-travel-fair or by using the QR code found with this article. Where & When Pennsylvania may also be found by searching for "Where & When Pennsylvania" on Facebook or at @whereandwhenpa on Instagram.
"Every day, we will feature a different exhibitor," said Royal. "Each one of them will take over our social media for a day." The first organization to take over Where & When's social media was the Endless Mountains Visitors Bureau, which is spotlighting a giveaway in conjunction with the fair consisting of a weekend kayaking getaway for four. "The package includes two nights lodging, a kayaking trip, and $200 toward meals," said Royal, who noted that a basket of Endless Mountains products will be included. Visitors to the virtual travel fair may enter to win the package at the website. The winner will be chosen in a random drawing by Friday, June 5.
Lining up to take over the Where & When social media are a mix of visitors' bureaus, historic attractions, amusement parks, museums, and all-inclusive resorts. Among them are the Pennsylvania Campground Owners Association, the Nature Inn at Bald Eagle, Pennsylvania Great Outdoors, Pioneer Tunnel Coal Mine, DelGrosso's Amusement Park and Laguna Splash, and Refreshing Mountain Retreat and Adventure Center. Fort Roberdeau in Altoona will also have a day manning the social media accounts.
Virtual tours of areas will be available on some days as well. "We have 18 different destination marketing organizations involved," noted Royal. "Some of those will include virtual tour links for their areas." Among the destination marketing areas that will be part of the virtual fair are the Allegheny National Forest Visitors Bureau and The Happy Valley Adventure Bureau.
One of the exciting aspects of the travel fair is that the exhibitors bring information about interesting and beautiful parts of Pennsylvania to those who attend. The virtual fair can accomplish that goal by putting the spotlight on special attractions in different areas of the state. "Susquehanna, Wyoming, and Sullivan counties are for people who really like to get away to open spaces," noted Royal. "Worlds End State Park (in Sullivan County) is really pretty, and in Franklin County, there are beautiful vistas." Royal added that the town of New Castle in Lawrence County is considered the fireworks capital of America because it is the home of two fireworks enterprises that trace their origins to the mid-1800s. The county is also home to a craft burger trail.
Royal said that through the virtual fair, she is encouraging involvement by the whole family, including the youngest members. "We will have children's activity pages, and there's a downloadable crossword puzzle and some coloring pages," Royal pointed out. "I am encouraging parents of tweens and teens to involve those children in their travel plans (as well)."
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