Representatives of McKean County’s tourism-promotion agency joined about 400 attendees from the regional group travel industry during a recent trade show in Buffalo, N.Y.

Linda Devlin, executive director, and Bri Payne, communications and media coordinator, both of the Allegheny National Forest Visitors Bureau, attended Heartland Travel Showcase Feb. 16-18 at the Buffalo Niagara Convention Center, hosted by the Ohio Travel Association.

Tour operators met with exhibitors in six-minute appointments and four-minute meets designed to create business relationships between operators and destination partners.

Devlin indicated she was pleased with the connections she made — and the potential to develop tourism in the Bradford area.

“I was very impressed with the amount of tour operators who requested appointments with us this year, and the amount of tour operators who booked business for Beefeaters Dinner Theater and other local attractions,” Devlin said. “We also have a lot of interest for new itineraries for 2019. We are working with the operators to develop both day trips, and overnight trips featuring our group tour business partners. One operator wants to develop a seven to eight-day tour utilizing our trail system.”