Photo Captions: (Bottom-Left) Omega World Travel president & CEO Gloria Bohan presents at the first annual TravelGanza! (Center) Omega welcomes visitors to the travel and community showcase. (Bottom-Right) Omega staff with Fred Grandy.

Fairfax, Va. – Sept. 8, 2008 - Omega World Travel in conjunction with Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center hosted its first annual travel and community showcase – the ‘TravelGanza!’ Sept. 6 at the National Harbor. TravelGanza! a new concept in travel shows celebrates the travel and tourism business while networking local sites, ground operators, hospitality representatives and tour operators with major airlines and cruise companies. Despite hurricane ‘Hanna’ fears, nearly 100 exhibitors representing airlines, cruise lines, hotels, embassies, tour companies as well as local attractions and hundreds of visitors attended the event.

Gaylord, well-known for its Gaylord Opryland Resort in Nashville, provided TravelGanza! visitors the opportunity to explore Gaylord’s newly launched property at the National Harbor. Visitors were able to interact with travel experts, learn about new trends in travel, attend travel presentations, discover new destinations and book the trip of a lifetime right on the spot. Festivities also included plenty of giveaways, lively entertainment and a special guest appearance by Fred Grandy of The Love Boat fame and WMAL’s Grandy & Andy Morning Show.

Cruise Growth
Fred Grandy spoke about the evolution of the cruise industry since The Love Boat days. In the 70s, when the show was in its prime, only four percent of the general public bought cruises. According to Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), today, that number has escalated to 20 percent. By the end of 2008, the cruise industry anticipates serving approximately 12.8 million guests.

Partnerships Emphasized
“This event underscores that by creating valuable partnerships in this uncertain time in the travel industry, we can all continue to grow our business and establish ourselves as leaders within the industry,” said Gloria Bohan, president & CEO of Omega World Travel.
Representatives from all areas of the travel industry appreciated the opportunity to display their products and services as well as discuss new trends. Due to the success of this first show in Washington, D.C., plans are being made to take the show to other metropolitan areas.

Supporting Local Charities – Fisher House Honored
In conjunction with the travel show, TravelGanza! is dedicated and operates to support local charities with fundraising efforts during the show. This year, a silent auction held to benefit the Fisher House Foundation, which provides comfort homes for families of wounded soldiers, raised over $33,000. Gloria Bohan donated an additional $5,000 on behalf of Omega World Travel.

“Omega recognizes and appreciates the work of Fisher House and their valuable mission to support our troops,” said Bohan. “We hope through the funds raised by Omega, Fisher House can continue to touch the lives of many military families in their time of need.”

Since 1990, Fisher House has been providing shelter and support during medical crises
to injured service members, veterans, retirees and their families.

"Fisher House Foundation is absolutely delighted that Omega World Travel chose the military families we serve as their beneficiary, said Derek Donovan, vice president of operations for Fisher House. “The amount raised in one afternoon while weathering a hurricane raging outside is amazing. Having spent many years in the military I am very familiar with the superb quality of their professional services but this example of Omega's philanthropy is quite special."

TravelGanza! is owned and operated by Omega World Travel and Cruise.com. Since opening its first travel agency in Fredericksburg, Va., over 36 years ago, Omega World Travel has grown to be the largest woman-owned business in the Washington D.C. area with offices across the U.S. and in key regions of the world. In addition to providing leisure travel offerings, Omega World Travel specializes in complete travel management services, as well as incentive and meetings management services including business, corporate, government and military customers.

ABOUT OMEGA WORLD TRAVEL
Omega World Travel is the 2nd largest, privately-owned travel management company in the country. Headquartered in Fairfax, Va., Omega services corporate, government and leisure clients throughout the U.S., Europe and Asia. Omega also owns Travtech, a technology development company, and Cruise.com, one of the largest sellers of cruises online.