The Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau has hired Walden Agustin Sr. as senior national accounts director.

“We are extremely pleased to welcome Walden to the PHLCVB sales team,” says Jack Ferguson, president and CEO, PHLCVB.  “His experience will be a tremendous asset in promoting Philadelphia as one of the country’s top meeting destinations and booking additional room nights in our region’s hotels.”

In his role, Agustin will develop initiative and definitive business from the Midwest and Southeast market in midsize and citywide groups. With 19 years of sales and marketing experience, Agustin was most recently with the San Francisco Travel Association, where he was in charge of the Midwest citywide association and corporate accounts. Before there, he worked for a number of Hyatt Hotels; the Hilton San Francisco; the San Francisco Convention & Visitors Bureau; and the Hawaii Convention Center.

“Having worked with destination marketing organizations, hotels and a convention facility, I am keenly aware of what clients expect from a destination,” says Agustin. “I am excited to bring this expertise to Philadelphia, and I look forward to taking the PHL story on the road as we work to drive even more convention business to the region.”

Dozens of Meeting Planners Tour Philly

 

The return of familiarization trips is one key sign that things are beginning to return to normal in our industry. In mid-June the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau (PHLCVB) hosted more than 40 meeting and convention planners for a three-day familiarity tour. Their stay included a visit to the Franklin Institute and world premiere exhibit Harry Potter: The Exhibition, evening reception on the Rocky Steps, and a watch party as Philadelphia was announced as a host city for the FIFA World Cup 2026.

 
A Guide to Exploring NYC (Beyond Manhattan)

If you’ve hosted meetings at the Javits Center or other venues in Manhattan, you know that there’s more than enough to do in the borough to easily keep attendees busy for days.

 
Great Allegheny Passage Earns Honors

Pittsburgh may be known as The Steel City, but it has plenty of greenery, too, and opportunities for groups attending meetings here to get out in nature. The Pittsburgh CVB, which has the tagline “Only in Pittsburgh,” has proudly shared the news that the Great Allegany Passage was named a winner in the 2022 USA Today “10Best Readers’ Choice” travel award contest for “best recreational trail.”