500+ tamales headed to Austin Wednesday morning

The tradition of sending tamales to the city of Austin continues for the 13th year Wednesday morning, courtesy of Visit El Paso, a division of Destination El Paso.

Officials with the Convention Development Department said there isn’t a better Mexican dish that personifies the type of detailed, quality service and unrivaled hospitality that you’ll find in El Paso.

At 6:15 am on Southwest Flight #381, two members of the convention development team will continue this thirteen year holiday tradition by traveling to Austin to deliver tamales from El Paso, to more than forty associations and industry partners within the Austin area.

Officials said the goal is to attract convention business and media attention for the Sun City and to also say thank you to existing partners.

After developing the idea in 2003, nearly 6,500 tamales have been delivered to Austin.

This year, more than 500 freshly-made tamales will be hand delivered to a variety of government, fraternal, and educational groups such as the Texas Department of Transportation, Texas Travel Industry Association and the Texas Retired Teacher Association.

“Hauling 500 tamales from El Paso to Austin is quite the undertaking but this year we have a little more pep in our step as we travel,” said Brooke Underwood, Director of Convention Development for Visit El Paso. “Not only will the team be delivering unique goodies from El Paso but they will also be sharing the good news about the City’s growth and development.”

Underwood added, “Our visit gives us the perfect opportunity to highlight projects such as the recent sale and pending renovation of the Camino Real Hotel, the progress of the Street Car system and the current construction of the Courtyard by Marriott and renovation of the Bassett Tower as an Aloft hotel, all of which will be within walking distance of the El Paso Convention Center.”