2,900 expected Friday for OMG!con

Cosplay, anime, and video game lovers reunited once again to make this year’s OMG!con the best yet.  After moving from Paducah to the Owensboro Convention Center to provide an atmosphere full of opportunity for its attendees, OMG!con has continued to grow bigger and better every year.  Not only has the convention expanded in numbers, but…

In the Spotlight

Brand USA takes Owensboro to World Stage We just can’t stop talking about everything that Owensboro has to offer, and now the rest of the world knows too!  Owensboro’s tourism is under the international spotlight now, and big things are expected for the city in the upcoming years. Alongside cities like Las Vegas, New Orleans,…

ROMP Fest 2019

The weather is warming up which means the season for bluegrass is almost here!  Celebrating its 16th year, the River Of Music Party (ROMP) Festival will return to Owensboro’s Yellow Creek Park, led by iconic artists and Hall of Fame members Ricky Skaggs and Del McCoury.  Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder will feature special guest Patty…

Cork Cuisine – Mardi Gras

Want to celebrate Mardi Gras in style without traveling to NOLA?  Get a taste of Bourbon Street, but with wine at Cork & Cuisine – Mardi Gras on Fat Tuesday, March 5 at 6 p.m. at the Owensboro Convention Center!  Guests are invited to indulge in five delicious courses from the beloved bayou region expertly…

Hampton Inn celebrates five years in business

A celebration was held Thursday to recognize five years in business for the Hampton Inn & Suites Downtown Owensboro/Waterfront hotel. The seven-story, 150-room hotel opened for business on Jan. 31, 2014, and has a 4.5 out of 5 rating on TripAdvisor from 463 traveler reviews. Nearly every speaker who attended the celebration took time to…

CVB is courting bus tour operators

The Owensboro-Daviess County Convention & Visitors Bureau will play host to nine bus tour operators from seven states and Canada on Friday. Mark Calitri, CVB president, said the idea is to “introduce them to Owensboro and put our community on their road map. These tour operators, if impressed, will book future bus group trips to…

CVB revenue up $25,000 in last 3 months; tourism starting to rebound

For most of 2018, receipts from the Owensboro-Daviess County Convention & Visitors Bureau’s 3 percent tax on hotel room rentals was down from 2017. But things turned around in September. And through November, the room tax brought it $25,194 more than it did in the same months a year earlier.   In fact, October was…

CVB trying to make Owensboro a destination

There’s a new billboard on I-65 at the Kentucky-Tennessee state line. “Bourbon. Bluegrass. Authentic,” it says. There’s a picture of Sam Bush, the “father of newgrass,” wearing a Kentucky jersey and playing his mandolin. And there’s a picture of a bottle of O.Z. Tyler bourbon and a glass of bourbon that’s either half full or…

KTIA conference returns for first time since 2007

The Kentucky Travel Industry Association will bring its annual conference to Owensboro Tuesday through Thursday for the first time since 2007, when the Executive Inn Rivermont was still in business. “The largest attendance KTIA has produced is around 375 in Louisville in 2017,” Mark Calitri, president and CEO of the Owensboro-Daviess County Convention & Visitors…

CVB expecting international tourism soon

British Airways will launch daily flights from London to Nashville starting March 31. And that’s good news for Owensboro. “That will be great for us with tour operators since we’re so close to Nashville,” Dave Kirk, destination management director, for the Owensboro-Daviess County Convention & Visitors Bureau. The Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame & Museum…