Peter Shankman To Keynote Pocono Mountains Tourism Day 2012

Online, March 23, 2012 (Newswire.com) - The Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau (PMVB) proudly announces that the highly thought-after Peter Shankman, who has distinguished himself worldwide for radical new ways of thinking about social media, public relations, marketing, advertising, creativity and customer service, will deliver the keynote address at Pocono Mountains Tourism Day on May 9, 2012.

"Integrating Social Media" is the theme of this year's conference at the Stroudsmoor Country Inn's Terraview. The conference also includes the annual Tourism Achievement Awards luncheon where local hospitality industry workers and properties are awarded for their excellence in guest and community service throughout the region.

Shankman, best known for founding Help A Reporter Out (HARO), started his career in Vienna, VA, with America Online as a senior news editor, helping found the AOL Newsroom and spearheading coverage of the Democratic and Republican 1996 conventions, which marked the first time an online news service covered any major political event. Since then his social media clients have included the Snapple Beverage Group, NASA, The US Department of Defense, Walt Disney World, American Express, Discovery Networks, New Frontier Media and Napster.

"In the new world of social media and visitor engagement, Peter has real experience with real results. Peter excels at leveraging social media to market and promote a business," says David West, vice-president of marketing for the PMVB. "His practical approach to business, understanding of how excellent customer service can fuel any business and his engaging delivery is sure to educate and entertain everyone in attendance."

Tourism Day begins at 10:00 a.m. with the keynote scheduled for 11:30 a.m. and ends with an optional Social Media Boot Camp from 2:00 - 3:30 p.m. Organized and hosted by the PMVB, the marketing conference has been the premier professional development opportunity for marketers and communicators in the Pocono Mountains region since 1994.

Other presentations include a panel on social media best practices for the travel and tourism industry. The panel will be comprised of regional tourism partners who have actively engaged social audiences on the channels of Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube.

Fees for Pocono Mountains Tourism Day are $50 per PMVB member and $60 per non-PMVB member. Registration includes Keynote and Panel Presentations, Tourism Achievement Awards Luncheon and Social Media Boot Camp. Deadline for registration is Monday, April 30, 2012. Registrations received on or after May 1 or walk-in registration will be subject to slightly higher fees. Special rates for overnight accommodations are available for $90 per night (standard) and $150 per night (suites) at Stroudsmoor.

For more information on the conference and to register, visit 800poconos.com/tourismday or contact Brittany Berger at the PMVB at 570-421-5791 or [email protected]. Follow Pocono Mountains Tourism Day on Twitter by monitoring the hashtag, #tourismday.