Kara Gray-Watson has joined the Paducah Convention & Visitors Bureau as the newest member of the CVB sales and marketing team. Specializing in destination services, Gray will play a key role in the development of visitor information resources, partner relations and the delivery of the Paducah experience.

The Paducah Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB), National Quilt Museum and River Discovery Center represented Paducah at the annual Travel South USA Showcase in St. Louis, Missouri, December 2-5, 2019. Hosted by state tourism offices across the South, the event draws together qualified international tour operators from more than 20 countries with Southern travel suppliers to grow international visitation to the southern United States.

Mary Hammond, Executive Director of the Paducah Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) was the recipient of the 2019 Mangeot-Oaken Award for Distinguished Service Award at the Kentucky Travel Industry Association (KTIA) Annual Conference in Covington, Kentucky on November 7.

The 24^th annual National Trail of Tears Association Conference and Symposium will be held at the Holiday Inn Riverfront/Paducah Convention Center October 11-13^th, 2019.

Louisville to host the James Beard Foundation series of events to celebrate diversity of American cooking, feature Paducah Chef Sara Bradley (freight house)

Seven student musicians will represent Paducah and McCracken County at the inaugural Global Youth Concert in Icheon, South Korea, July 29-August 4, 2019. The invitation to participate came from the Mayor’s office in Icheon, one of Paducah’s sister UNESCO Creative Cities in the creative field of Crafts & Folk Art.

Anglers will compete on the Ohio, Tennessee, and Cumberland Rivers.

Louisville, KY – July 7, 2019 – Catfish anglers from several states will travel to Paducah, KY on the Ohio River for a King Kat

Landee Bryant, Executive Director of Maiden Alley Cinema, will represent Paducah at Europa Cinemas Audience Development & Innovation Lab in the UNESCO Creative City of Bologna, Italy.

USA Today named Paducah a winner in two categories of the 2019 10Best Readers’ Choice Readers’ Choice travel award contest. Paducah finished sixth among destinations nominated for Best Small Town Cultural Scene and seventh among those nominated for Best Small Town for Shopping.

Residents of Paducah are invited to participate in a community quilt “hang out” on Friday, April 26, 2019 by hanging their favorite quilts outdoors in celebration of 55 years of Paducah’s lighted Dogwood Trail and 35 years of American Quilter’s Society QuiltWeek.

Southeast Tourism Society has selected Spring AQS QuiltWeek – Paducah as one of the STS Top 20 Events in the Southeast for April 2019. Nominated by the Paducah Convention & Visitors Bureau, the 35^th annual American Quilter’s Society Spring QuiltWeek event will take place April 24-27 at the Paducah-McCracken County Convention & Expo Center.

The Kentucky Department of Tourism announced the release of the 2019 Official Kentucky Visitor’s Guide and the Year of Kentucky Storytellers. The guide features travel tips and stories, narrated by

The Paducah Hospitality Association (PHA) hosted its Annual President’s Awards Dinner on January 8, 2019 at River Discovery Center. Ed Musselman, The Coke Plant, and Kijsa Housman, MAKE Paducah, were featured speakers.

The 78th annual running of the National Retriever Club (NRC) Championships, an American Kennel Club event for retrievers, is set to take place November 10-17 at the West Kentucky Wildlife Management Area.

Paducah, KY is celebrating its fifth anniversary as a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Creative City of Crafts & Folk Art. Since its designation in 2013, Paducah has boosted the local economy through tourism promotion, made invaluable relationships with cities around the world and brought global experiences and opportunities to the region.

In celebration of the fifth anniversary of Paducah’s designation as a UNESCO Creative City, Paducah is collaborating with fellow Creative Cities for a special cinematic showcase during the 2018 River’s Edge International Film Festival.

McCracken County received the Economic Engine Award from the Kentucky Travel Industry Association (KTIA) during the Budget Review Subcommittee on Economic Development, Tourism, and Environmental Protection of the Interim Joint Committee on Appropriations and Revenue meeting this morning. The award is given to those counties in which tourism has had a significant impact on their local economy.

Tourism Works!, a compilation of community-level success stories produced by the Southeast Tourism Society (STS) features Paducah’s engagement with the UNESCO Creative Cities Network. The publication debuted at the STS Congressional Summit on Travel & Tourism in July.

Poland’s cities of Krakow and Katowice, Creative Cities of Literature and Music respectively welcomed the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) as hosts of the UCCN Annual Meeting, June 12-15, 2018.

Tourism spending in McCracken County grew to $233.9 million in direct expenditures in 2017 according to the 2017 Economic Impact of Kentucky Tourism Report. This represents an increase of 2.6% over 2016 and contributes to a total economic impact of $15 billion statewide.