------------------------
Executive Board
Terry F. Koenig
President of Koenig & Associates, a marketing and public relations company. Past President of the Skål Club of San Francisco. He has spent 38 years in the Travel Industry with 20 years directing the marketing for passenger ferry operations in San Francisco and Los Angeles. Served as Chairman of the California Travel Industry Association and on the boards of the Long Beach Convention & Visitors Bureau, Catalina Island Chamber of Commerce and the Tiburon Chamber of Commerce.
Vice President:
Robin Morales Business Development - Sales Manager at SoPac/SF Connection -- a tourism and travel represenation company Robin has served as a successful professional in Business Development/ Sales for an airline, a tour wholesaler, a worldwide chauffeur company, a non-profit organization and a travel agency.
Secretary-Treasurer:
Christian Spirandelli
Bryan International Travel, President, CEO and Owner since 1995. He merged into FROSCH International Travel in 2007. As usual with the travel industry, he has traveled extensively worldwide and has held advisory positions with several companies.
Chairman:
Lakshman Ratnapala
Chairman of Enelar International, a global management consultancy. Emeritus President & CEO of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA). A regular writer to business magazines and speaker on travel topics at conferences and workshops.
Co-Chairman:
Logan Happel
Director of Sales and Client Relations, Travel Industry at USI Travel Insurance Services.
|
 |
|
OUR STORY --
75 YEARS
Founded in 1934, the Foreign Travel Club (FTC) of San Francisco, the oldest of its kind in California, celebrates its 75th birthday this year.
The Club was launched by a band of enterprising men who challenged the monopoly of the local travel scene by employees of the Southern Pacific Railway.
The Club is non-sectarian and apolitical. Led over the years by respected executives of the travel industry, the Club membership has comprised individuals who have contributed to the growth of the single most important industry that enhances the quality of life and the vitality of the San Francisco Bay Area.
The FTC's monthly luncheon meetings, featuring speakers on travel topics are occasions where past and present travel industry executives, travel writers and frequent travelers meet to share experiences and promote the business of travel in a spirit of camaraderie.
|
The Foreign Travel Club cordially invites travel presentations at our monthly luncheon meetings from Government, State, and City Tourism Offices, Airlines, Cruiselines, Hotels, Tour Operators, Travel Writers, and others.
Please contact:
President, Terry Koenig at
There is no cost to the presenter.
|
CLUB EVENTS
Please mark your calendar for luncheon meetings of the Club scheduled for the fourth Thursday of every month, except September (summer outing), November (third Thursday), and December (Holiday Party).
We usually meet at the Marines Memorial Club, 609 Sutter Street, 12th Floor, San Francisco. The keynote topic, speaker and venue are announced by a special notice, a week prior to the meeting.
COMING UP:
Japan Airlines
Thursday, May 27
Great Rail Journeys
Registration begins at 11:30 am. Guests are welcome at these luncheons..
For details and to RSVP, contact:
Terry Koenig
ftcosf@gmail.com or call (415) 726-3712.
|
|
FTC CLUB ANNUAL
MEMBERSHIP DUES
Couples - $50
Individuals - $40
For details, please contact Terry Koenig at ftcosf@gmail.com or call (415) 726-3712. | |
|
Membership of the FTC is open to travel industry personnel, travel writers and frequent foreign travelers whose credentials must be endorsed by a current member. Spouses are welcome to join. FTC luncheon meetings serve the dual purpose of social interaction and business opportunity.
Professional presentations on travel trends, destinations and services are followed by Q&A session with Club members.
Although the internet and guidebooks do a great job of preparing the traveler, nothing can replace the experience of someone who has been there, done that and can speak from personal exerience. Research shows 20% of American travelers value others' personal comments over information from books, newspapers and the internet.
The FTC is a forum to meet world travelers, many of whom are travel writers and executives who have worked for tour companies, airlines/cruiselines and hotels. Whereas the internet gives impersonal information, the FTC offers insights to real life experiences.
Being a member of the FTC enhances every trip you take, it ensures you unforgettable travel experiences and opportunities to share them with other members in a spirit of camaraderie.
|
SIGN OF THE TIMES...
America's Most On-Time Airlines
February has been a tough month for air travelers in the U.S. Two major snowstorms ripped across the country in quick succession, leaving flights canceled and thousands of passengers stranded.
Granted, the airlines can't be blamed entirely for bad-weather delays, and passengers traveling to or from cold-weather cities have a better chance of getting stuck due to inclement conditions. Be that as it may, a look at all the major U.S. airlines over 2009 shows that some, in general, are slightly better than others when it comes to delivering passengers to their destinations on time.America's Most On-Time Airlines
1. Southwest
2. SkyWest
3. United
4. US Airways
5. NorthwestSee the full list of America's Most On-Time Airlines
Behind the Numbers
To determine America's most on-time airlines, we used data and rankings provided in the US Department of Transportation's Air Travel Consumer Report covering the year 2009, which was released earlier this month. The data was collected by the DOT's Bureau of Transportation Statistics, and provided by the carriers that earn at least 1 percent of domestic passenger revenues. There are 18 such carriers, all ranked by the DOT for their on-time percentage.
The airlines that have some of the best on-time records are those that operate with fewer planes out of fewer, less-busy airports. Hawaiian Airlines and Alaska Airlines, for example, would top the list - which doesn't really help a traveler in the Lower 48 deciding which airline will get him from one city to another and back, most reliably. So for our list, we only considered airlines that operate in at least 20 of the country's 31 busiest airports, a baseline number suggested by the DOT.
Assessing the Field
The biggest-name airline to fall outside the top 10 was American Airlines, with 77.2 percent of flights arriving on time in 2009. That's still only 5.8 percentage points away from Southwest, in the top spot. Following Southwest are Delta partner SkyWest (82.1 percent); United (81 percent); US Air (80.9 percent); and Northwest (79.2 percent).
If the small margins between airlines' on-time percentages sounds like splitting hairs, that's probably right, says David Stempler, an aviation lawyer and president of the Air Travelers Association, a passenger advocacy organization based in Chevy Chase, Md. The country's airline arrival times are about as good as they can be on current air-traffic technology, and on-time percentages only say something - but not everything - about an airline's management or efficiency.
It's just as well because passengers seldom take on-time percentages into account when buying airline tickets.
For full story, click on this link.
on Yahoo!Travel
February 26, 2010 |
 |
|
Cruising?
Join your fellow FTC members & friends on fun cruises at
group rates with
group amenities.
CONTACT:
Claudette Main, CTC, ACC
Phone/Fax:
(650) 345-9455
|
UNWTO Secretary-General
Addresses the T20 Ministers of Tourism
Tourism's Contribution to the Global Agenda
(Johannesburg / Madrid - 23 February 2010 ) "Global challenges such as the recent economic crisis and the climate imperatives can only be addressed in a global cooperative manner and in a forum such as the UN or the G-20", said UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai, in his opening remarks at the Tourism Ministers' Meeting (T20) "Travel and tourism: stimuli for the global economy" (22-24 February, Johannesburg).
The Ministry of Tourism of the Republic of South Africa, with the support of UNWTO, is hosting a Tourism Ministers' Meeting (T20) under the theme "Travel and tourism: stimuli for the global economy" from February 22-24, 2010 in Johannesburg.
Tourism ministers meeting at the UNWTO General Assembly (October 2009, Astana, Kazakhstan) expressed a strong sentiment that tourism should be further mainstreamed in global economic decision making.
Travel and tourism can make a valuable contribution to the economic recovery, and can be an important pillar of the global efforts to unlock enhanced economic growth, infrastructure development, trade promotion, poverty eradication and particularly job creation.
The T20 is a members-driven initiative with the support of UNWTO.
|
destinations, tour packages, cruises, airfares, hotels or other services? The FTC delivers you a sophisticated travel audience.
COSTS: Graphic banner ads cost $15 per issue. For live links to websites, add $15 per URL.
AD DIMENSIONS: Files must be submitted in .JPG file format with a 100 dpi resolution with dimensions as follows:
Rectangle Ad: 180 pixels wide x 240 pixels high.
Vertical Banner Ad : 60 pixels wide x 100 pixels high.
FTC members receive a 10% discount. For ad quotes or to place an ad, contact:
|
.
| |
PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE:
A 1st Class Cruise Ship Terminal at Last!
San Francisco is a world class city with a third world Cruise Ship Terminal, but all that is about to change if Rodney Fong President of the San Francisco Port Commission has his way. Rodney who will be the featured speaker at our March 25th Luncheon is very confident that the plan to build a new Cruise Ship Terminal at Pier 27 along the Embarcadero in the shadow of Telegraph Hill will come to fruition.
Artist's rendering of new Cruise Ship Terminal at Pier 27.
The current Cruise Ship Terminal located at Pier 35 on the edge of Fisherman's Wharf was built in 1915 remodeled in 1934 and outlived its usefulness several decades ago. In 2006 a previous Port of SF plan to relocate the Cruise Terminal to Piers 30-32 at the foot of Bryant and Spear streets failed. That plan included a $360 million state-of-the-art international cruise ship terminal as well as five-star restaurants, offices and waterfront promenades. It was scrapped due to skyrocketing construction costs, as well as declining commercial real estate rents
This time around the cruise ship terminal has been packaged with a new economic reality and costs estimates by the Port of SF for its construction are in the $60 million range. The location is much more central to downtown San Francisco and only a few blocks from both the Ferry Building and Fisherman's Wharf. The new Cruise Terminal would be a reuse of existing Pier 27 and its 120,000 square foot shed. The 1,300 foot pier length and 35 foot water depth would accommodate ships as large as the Queen Mary 2. The completion timeline calls for construction to begin in 2012 with the Pier opening in 2013. Community and environmental review are on-going and should be completed by 2011.
San Francisco's cruise business brought over a quarter-million visitors to the city in 2008 who contributed over $65 million to the regional economy and $900,000 to the City's General Fund. The City's waterfront generally hosts about 60 to 80 cruise-ship calls annually.
We are anxious to hear Rodney's comments on this important project as well as his update on the state of tourism in San Francisco. In addition to being President of the Port Commission he also serves as the Chair of the San Francisco Convention & Visitors Bureau.
Terry Koenig
President
Foreign Travel Club of San Francisco
|
|
FOCUS THIS MONTH: Pier 27 Cruise Terminal
SPEAKER PROFILE: Rodney Fong, Chair, San Francisco Convention & Visitors Bureau (SFCVB) and President, San Francisco Port Commission.
Few people can boast of working with the likes of Angelina Jolie, Barry Bonds, Mahatma Gandhi and President Barack Obama, but Rodney Fong comes close. He not only works with the likenesses of these and countless other celebrities, he was born and raised in that environment.  Rodney Fong is the President of the world famous Wax Museum at Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco and Fong Real Estate Company, LLC. He has been working in the family owned enterprises, and learning the business, since he was knee-high to a wax mannequin! The museum corridors were as familiar to him as his own home. Over the years, he became adept in all aspects of operational procedures.
Rodney's family became involved in this unique business almost by accident! His grandfather, Thomas Fong, who passed away in 2000 at the age of 88, left Canton, China as a teenager. He worked industriously, and eventually married his life's partner, Eva J. Fong, and started a family. He carefully conserved his modest income and invested in various enterprises and speculations. In 1962, his uncanny instinct prompted him to buy an old chicken feed warehouse occupying a whole block in what was then a shabby section of San Francisco's wharf area. This dilapidated building was to become one of the world's most renowned Wax Museums.
The Fong family enterprises in San Francisco, with the wise financial counseling of Thomas and the operational know-how of his son Ron, continued to grow and flourish through the years, as the Wax Museum building evolved into an active and thriving Entertainment Complex of attractions and retail shops. In 1985, an opportunity presented itself to expand the family's interest to Southern California. The family purchased Movieland Wax Museum, and commenced to operate that facility with the expertise gained from 25 years in the business. Soon after, Ron Fong and his then college age sons, Rodney and Barre, designed and built Southern California's first Ripley's Believe It Or Not! Museum, conveniently located across the street from Movieland. Movieland operated for 43 years before closing in 2005.
In 1998, the Fong Family undertook an immense project that they had been researching for years. They invested a year and a half and $18 million dollars in a brand new state-of-the-art building to replace the century old structure at Fisherman's Wharf. The new 100,000 square foot structure rises three floors above street level and a full subterranean level, which is occupied by the family's "keystone" operation, the Wax Museum. The upper levels of the building house various offices and retail venues, topped off by the anchor tenant, Rainforest Café, a Wild Place To Eat And Shop®. The 31st restaurant of a successful international chain, Rainforest occupies 30,000 custom built square feet on three floors of the building, including a two-floor waterfall.
Rodney, the third generation of Fong entrepreneurs, always loved the family business and decided to build his career within the organization. In 1986 he devoted himself full time to learning all phases of the business, beginning with daily operations and management technique. He found the marketing aspects to be both fascinating and challenging, so he eventually made that his main focus, gradually learning the concepts, strategies and procedures of that profession. Today, at 43 years old, Rodney not only directs marketing activities for all of the family owned entities, he is also actively involved in overall operational management procedures and decisions. In addition, he also finds time to take an active role in many civic and travel related organizations, such as the Fisherman's Wharf Merchant's Association, Fisherman's Wharf Community Benefit District, Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation, and California Travel Industry Association.
In 2009, Rodney was voted President of the San Francisco Port Commission, and also became Chair of the San Francisco Convention & Visitor's Bureau. Rodney is also the Director of the Fong Family Foundation, a philanthropic organization created by his grandparents to benefit many worthwhile social services in the City.
Like his grandfather and father before him, Rodney loves the behind-the-scenes, "show biz" ambiance his profession offers. "Everyone pitches in to prepare for the grand opening of a new project, doing whatever there is to be done." says Fong. "After all the work, many times complicated with unforeseen disasters, it's always a thrill to see the whole thing come together. Every scene, in each attraction, holds a special memory for me." |
|
EVENT DETAILS:
WHEN
Thursday, March 25th
11:30 am Bar Opens
WHERE
Marines' Memorial Club
609 Sutter St., 12th Floor
(Corner of Mason St.)
San Francisco, CA
COST
$25 Luncheon and Program
RSVP
Please RSVP by Friday, March 19th
Click on this link to RSVP: ftcosf@gmail.com or call (415) 726-3712. Include your name and the names of any guests. |
|
FEBRUARY ROUND-UP: "Eureka" 1st Zeppelin in the Bay Area in 75 Years
Our February Speaker, Pamela Wright, Corporate Sales Manager for Airship Ventures took us on a virtual tour aboard their new Zeppelin named Eureka. With the aid of a PowerPoint presentation and some awesome photographs, Pamela showed us the interior of Eureka and took us high above the Bay Area for some outstanding views.
Eureka is the 1st Zeppelin to cruise Bay Area skies in 75 years. Larger than a Boeing 747 and twice the size of a Space Shuttle, Airship Ventures' Zeppelin cost $14 million, was built in Germany and shipped intact, except for the removal of the gondola and engines, by container ship to Texas where it was reassembled and then flown to California (a 10 day journey).
The gondola that hangs below the fuselage has seating for 12 with single seats located next to extra large panoramic windows. There are even two windows that open so photographers can shoot without any glass reflection. Airship Ventures offers tours that depart from Moffet Field in the South Bay or from the Oakland Airport. They book individuals and groups as well as charters. One favorite with corporations is having a board meeting aboard Eureka. The Zeppelin flights have proven to be very popular so you need to book a few weeks in advance. They do not fly in rain or heavy fog.
|
February Meeting Prize Winners:
(From Left) FTC President: Terry Koenig; Prize Winners: Rae Leaper, Monica Conrady, Annie Sedeau; Speaker: Pamela Wright (Photo by Jim Main).
And, The Winners Are:
- 50/50 Drawing - $33 Annie Sedeau
- Bottle of St. Francis "Old Vine Zin" & Wine Glasses - Monica Conrady
- Bottle of Ferrari Carano Chardonnay & Wine Glasses - Rae Leaper
- Sacred Places Book - Rae Leaper
- Airship Ventures T- Shirt & Pins - Rae Leaper
|
COMING ATTRACTIONS:
Thursday, March 25th:
Rodney Fong, Chair, San Francisco Convention & Visitors Bureau
Thursday, April 22nd:
Douglas Shelton, Account Manager, Japan Airlines
Thursday, May 27th:
Morgan Lawrence, Travel Journalist, Great Rail Journeys
LUCKY YOU! Every meeting features a 50-50 raffle and one or more lucky draws that you must be present to win. |
A SENSE OF TRAVEL...
with Georgia Hesse
O would some power the giftie gie us to see ourselves as others see us. -- Robert Burns
Were that wish to come true, 'twould be depressing and stimulating at once.
Main lawn of Claverton Manor overlooking the valley of Limpley Stoke (what super names!) and the River Avon.
For U.S. citizens, the American Museum at Claverton Manor, two miles from England's handsome Georgian city of Bath, may come as a surprise; most surely as a delight. The only comprehensive museum of Americana in Europe, it sits in classical splendor atop a handy hill overlooking the Valley of Limpley Stoke (!) and the River Avon. Winston Churchill delivered his first political speech there on July 26, 1897.
Uncounted miles and several decades are consumed by the traveler in pursuit of appreciation of the homely crafts, arts, gardens and decorative details across the vastness of these United States. Yet Claverton manages, on 120 acres, to bring from the American chaos a clear and distinct painting of the New World's culture.
"Liberty" on display in the American Museum at Claverton Manor near Bath, England.
It was the dream of two Americans, Dr. Dallas Pratt, a psychiatrist, and antiques dealer John Judkyn, a naturalized citizen, to display behind the neo-classical façade collections that would illustrate the American story. Even panelings, floorboards, and ceiling beams would be brought from colonial houses to make themselves at home in the spacious manor. Collecting began in 1958 and the museum opened on July 1, 1961.
The period rooms showcase furniture and craftworks from the late 17th to the mid-19th centuries and traditions ranging from the English Puritans to the Spanish colonists of New Mexico. Here the low-ceilinged Keeping Room from a house (c. 1690) in Wrentham, Mass., is arranged for a Bible reading; the reader might enter at any moment to take his place in the mushroom-arm great chair at the end of the oak and pine trestle table.
 Copperplate engraving of the Western Hemisphere by Theodor de Bry, 1596.
In Conkey's Tavern over there ("June ye 21st AD 1776" is carved into the fireplace lintel), Captain Daniel Shays plotted his unsuccessful Shays Rebellion in 1787, perhaps sitting in that bow-back Windsor chair while gingerbread baked in the beehive oven. The richly-decorated, pre-Civil War New Orleans Bedroom stars an elaborately-carved mahogany bedstead, the work of one Prudent Mallard, thought to be a veteran in the cabinet shop of Duncan Phyfe.
The Claverton collection of Shaker furniture is world-renowned. A radical religious sect that arrived in the U.S. from England in 1774, the tiny group under the leadership of "prophet" Ann Lee called itself the United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing. The world, however, dubbed them the Shakers because of their ecstatic dancing.
Grandma Moses' "Service Is Over," 1946.
In addition to leading her own religious "revolt," Mother Lee found time to create an All-American art form associated in most minds with New England: Shaker furniture. It should be like their lives, said she, "plain and simple ... unembellished by any superfluities." In addition to the period rooms, galleries devote themselves to maritime history and the continent's great inland waterways, American Indians, and the opening of the West. Puttering about the grounds, you'll find an herb garden, the Arboretum (which shows off trees, shrubs, and other plants that England owes to the Americas), the Mount Vernon Garden (a replica of George Washington's self-planted one from 1785), as well as a Northern Cheyenne tepee (not, we are told, to be confused with a wigwam) and a Conestoga wagon. Explore the Milliner's Shop, the Herb Shop, the Gallery Shop (books on America, etc.) and the Country Store (a combo of Post Office, pharmacy, provisions, and a political forum). And then it's time for tea at the Orangery Café.  Queen Kapi'olani's Fan Quilt, early 20th century, Hawaii.
This year, two special exhibitions will lure visitors: a presentation of some American quilts from the museum's hoard of 240 classics and, in the Map Room, "Treasure and Terror: Discovering the Americas in the Age of Exploration."
The American Museum in Britain is open from March 13 through October and closed all winter except for a few days around Christmas. |
|
