Graeme Hughes and the MTCVB convention sales team courts customers constantly. They're either on the phone, on a site tour or on a plane to convince meeting planners that Southern Arizona is the destination of choice.

If we stay focused on those three things we're going to get more than our fair share of the business, said Hughes, director of convention sales for the Metropolitan Tucson Convention & Visitors Bureau.

The bureau's sales team targets prospects who already have an interest in the Southwest or who have previously booked meetings in the Tucson region.

The team of six, including Hughes, promotes Southern Arizona as a destination and connects prospective clients with local convention hotels and resorts that fit the meeting planner's specified requirements.

The bureau has two time-tested programs that get results.

The first is the You Fly, We Buy campaign where the bureau pays the airfare to bring qualified meeting planners to Tucson so they can experience firsthand what Southern Arizona has to offer.

The bureau sells Tucson as a destination, then partners with local businesses to provide the product - hotel rooms, dining, golf, spa, transportation services and other amenities. The bureau pays for airfare and the partners provide complimentary accommodations, meals and other services. Together they give planners a personalized and authentic sampling of the real Southwest.