GREEN BAY, Wisconsin — Green Bay, Wisconsin, hosted the Going On Faith Conference August 22–24 and drew 150 travel industry buyers and sellers for three days of networking, professional development and social events. Now in its 18th year, the conference is the only national travel event dedicated solely to faith-based travel for groups.
“Brad Toll and Julie Gerczak with Discover Green Bay are wonderful hosts, and anytime you kick your event off with an evening at Lambeau Field, your delegates are going to be impressed,” said Jennifer Ferguson, general manager of the Going On Faith Conference. The opening evening event offered a tailgate-themed meal and tours of the Green Bay Packers’ revered stadium.
Faith-based planners were able to attend any of three different FAM tours that highlighted the region — one for Green Bay and two that showcased either Manitowoc or Fox Cities, two other popular Wisconsin cities.
Two marketplaces yielded an average of 30 appointments for attending travel companies and destinations, and 17 sponsors hosted meals and seminar sessions or provided on-site services for attendees. Longtime sponsors included Collette, Sight and Sound Theatres, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, Branson Restaurants Inc/IMAX, Cherokee Nation Cultural Tourism, and Ark Encounter and Creation Museum. Plimoth and Patuxet Museums/See Plymouth became a new meal sponsor at the conference.
“This conference encompasses faith-based destinations throughout the world,” said Ferguson. “From places like the Ark Encounter and Sight and Sound Theatres here in the U.S. to companies like Collette that can take a group anywhere, faith-based destinations across the globe find an influential audience here at this conference.”
“We were able to take delegates out to our National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion, and we also have nearby St. Norbert Abbey and St. Francis Xavier Cathedral, and other faith-centered sites for these groups to visit,” said Gerczak, who manages Green Bay’s group travel efforts. “Visitors to Green Bay know they are coming to a clean, family-friendly city that offers wonderful places to see. For foodies, our breweries, wineries, cheese curds and fine dining all combine to make a trip to Green Bay a wonderful choice.”
In 2024, the fun will continue August 6–8 at one of America’s best-known family destinations when the Going On Faith Conference heads to Branson, Missouri.
To register for next year’s conference, call 800-628-0993 or visit gofconference.com.
