VisitGainesville’s National Travel & Tourism Day  Bed-making Winners (from left to right) -- in second place: Shannon Berry – Residence Inn by Marriott--13^th Street;  in first place was Antonia Kocelova – Quality Inn – 13^th; and third Place – Denisa  Kocelova – Quality Inn – 13^th and the fastest bed-maker was Patricia Combs, Hilton Garden Inn.

VisitGainesville is kicking-off a weeklong series of events celebrating National Travel and Tourism Week (NTTW) May 8-16, 2010.  The week started with the 18^th Annual Bed-making Contest Monday, May 10 at the Paramount Plaza Hotel at 2900 SW 13^th Street at 9 a.m.  Twenty-two housekeeping staff members from 11 hotel properties from throughout Alachua County competed for prize money (and bragging rights) in various skill categories including overall neatness, mitered corners and speed.  Judges include Paula DeLaney, Alachua County Commissioner, Lori Pennington-Gray, Ph.D chair of the Alachua County Tourist Development Council and Rick Drummond, assistant county manager for Alachua County.

                “The bed-making event has become a National Travel & Tourism Week tradition here and a fun way for us to tell our tourism industry success story in Alachua County,” said Roland Loog, executive director of VisitGainesville.  “With an estimated eight million visitors annually in our county, the power of tourism as a generator of revenue and as employer for Alachua County is truly becoming a force to be reckoned with,” said Loog.   For additional information, the media may contact:  Marcheta Cole Keefer, VisitGainesville, at 352/374-5260 or by e-mail at:  mkeefer@visitgainesville.com