“VisitPittsburgh is now marketing the city as a glamorless destination for the post-luxury age,” the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09086/958705-53.stm

“‘Nobody is going to raise their eyebrows when you book your conference in Pittsburgh,’ said Craig Davis, vice president of sales and marketing for the region’s official tourism agency.

‘Why risk the possible issue of booking in what would be considered a resorty type of destination when you can get all you need in Pittsburgh?’

The thinking goes that if financial institution Wells Fargo had planned its employee rewards trip to Pittsburgh instead of Las Vegas after the federal bailout, no one would have balked,” the paper reports.

“VisitPittsburgh is hoping for a repeat of 2008, which was a record year for conventions at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. The center hosted 49 conventions, up from 38 in 2007.”

Well, I personally would rather visit Pittsburgh over Vegas any day.