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CEDAR FAIR CONTINUES TO OBJECT TO
PROPOSED STADIUM IN SANTA CLARA,
CALIFORNIA
Cedar Fair Entertainment CEO Richard Kinzel sent a letter to the Santa Clara city manager expressing concern over a proposed football stadium, which would be built on Great America's parking lot. The company may pursue litigation if its concerns are not addressed within eight weeks. Great America pays the city more than $5 million annually for its lease. Read More... DISCOUNTS CREDITED FOR STABLE
ATTENDANCE AT SAN DIEGO
ATTRACTIONS
Attendance at San Diego-area attractions from July 2008 to May 2009 totaled 12 million, about the same as the previous year. Many facilities are offering deep discounts, which are expected to impact revenue. Read more... DETAILS EMERGE ON 'KING KONG'
ATTRACTION AT UNIVERSAL STUDIOS
HOLLYWOOD IN CALIFORNIA
The new "King Kong" attraction will feature a motion simulator inside a dark soundstage surrounded by wraparound screens, according to filmmaker Peter Jackson. Guests will be in the middle of a battle between the ape and two dinosaurs. The attraction scheduled to open next year replaces the original "King Kong," which was destroyed in a fire last summer. Read more... DISNEY'S CALIFORNIA ADVENTURE
UNDERGOES TRANSFORMATION IN
ANAHEIM
California Adventure's multi-year $1.1 billion upgrade is already transforming the theme park with more Disney characters and a remodeled "Paradise Pier" boardwalk. A signature nighttime attraction called "World of Color" is under construction. California Adventure attracted approximately 5.5 million visitors in 2008, according to Themed Entertainment Association/Economics Research Associates. Read more... 'CIRQUE MAGNIFIQUE' DEBUTS AT
BOARDWALK AMUSEMENT PARK IN SANTA CRUZ,
CALIFORNIA
The free 30-minute show features an acrobatic troupe from Quebec, Canada. "Cirque Magnifique" includes juggling, bicycle stunts, martial arts displays, and hula hoop tricks. Read more... |
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NEVADA, FLORIDA OFFICIALS PROTEST
FEDERAL 'BLACKLIST'
Gov. Jim Gibbons says he's angered by a report that some federal agencies have put Nevada and other tourism-dependent locations on a "blacklist" when deciding where to hold conferences around the country. Gibbons commented after a Wall Street Journal article, published Wednesday, cited e-mails from the FBI and Department of Agriculture encouraging conference locations that aren't resort destinations and don't appear to be "lavish". Read more... NEW YORK CAMPAIGN TOUTS
GOOGLE'S 'FAVORITE PLACES'
New York City's marketing and partnership agency, NYC&Company, is launching a campaign supporting its association with Google Maps' new "Favorite Places" feature. According to MarketingDaily New York is one of more than a dozen cities worldwide that have signed on with the program, including San Francisco, London, Paris, Moscow, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Madrid and Prague. Read more... SOUTH DAKOTA USES SEMITRAILERS TO
PROMOTE TOURISM
South Dakota tourism officials have a new tactic to draw attention to the state - semitrailers. Seven semitrailers have been wrapped with South Dakota images such as Mount Rushmore National Memorial and Palisades State Park. The semis are owned by Sioux Falls-based K&J Trucking and will be traveling around the country on their commercial routes says Associated Press. State Tourism and Development Secretary Richard Benda says the agency this year also will be using social websites such as Facebook and Twitter, as well as blogs. Read more... A BUMPER CROP OF TRAVEL DEALS
BLOOMS IN SUMMER'S HEAT
The economy might be in a dog-days-of-summer slump, but many travelers are getting a break this season, thanks to a refreshing flurry of deals that cut across the travel spectrum. Discounts more numerous and more dramatic than last year are popping up from Orlando to Hawaii, on airfares and on vacation packages. And many industry watchers expect them to continue into August. Read more... |
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CANADA SEES SHARP DECLINE IN
AMERICAN TOURISTS
The number of U.S. tourists visiting Canada is at a 37- year low and declining, mainly due to the recession, but stricter new U.S. passport rules are also to blame, the head of the Tourism Industry Association of Canada said Thursday. "We're at the lowest level since 1972," association president Randy Williams said. "American traffic has been an issue for seven or eight years, constantly dwindling." Read More ... MAJOR RENOVATION ANNOUNCED FOR
MACAU FISHERMAN'S WHARF IN CHINA
A manmade volcano will be demolished to make way for a dinosaur museum and five-star hotels at the entertainment complex. New restaurants are also planned in the attraction's amusement park. The upgrade is estimated to cost approximately HK3 billion (US$387 million). Read More ... UK THEME PARKS RAMP UP
PROMOTIONS
VisitBritian estimates an additional 5 million Britons will holiday at home this summer, which may drive theme park visits over the coming weeks. Many parks are enticing visitors with discounts and special offers. Families purchasing online tickets to Alton Towers in Staffordshire can save up to 35 percent and enter the park an hour before its official opening time. Read More ... ECONOMIC DOWNTURN MAY JEOPARDIZE
EXPANSIONS OF LONDON'S BRITISH MUSEUM AND
TATE MODERN
The United Kingdom's culture minister said funds promised for the two expansions are no longer guaranteed due to government belt-tightening. In December 2007, the government announced plans to commit more than £70 million (US$114.7 million) to expand the British Museum and Tate Modern museum. This week, British Museum officials announced they have raised approximately two-thirds of the funds needed for a new wing, including government commitments. Read More ... |
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SURVEY: SHIFTING ACCOMMODATION
PREFERENCES
The current economic environment is apparently influencing consumers' interest in certain types of lodging accommodations as revealed in the just- released Ypartnership/Yankelovich 2009 National Travel Monitor. Compared to last year, preference for independently operated hotels and resorts is up, while preference for chain-affiliated properties is declining. Leisure travelers are also more likely to cite "value for the price" as a key consideration when selecting lodging accommodations. Read More ... FILLING ROOMS AT ANY COST IS NOT THE
ANSWER
This week's news that Starwood Hotels & Resorts is slashing rates by up to 50% at nearly 600 of its global properties has put the many challenges facing hoteliers into a stark realization. In an opinion article ehotelier says it finds it very troubling that such a large and brand-heavy operator would resort to extreme, across-the-board rate cutting in an effort to shore up slack occupancy. But we're not alone: Starwood's action has sparked an intra-industry debate over whether such overt price-slashing is actually good for business. Read More ... HOTELS SOUND THE ALARM ON TIME
SHARES
The hotel industry has been reeling for the past year amid a steep decline in business and leisure travel. Now it is moving away from one of its former profit centers: time shares. Major time-share developers, led by Wyndham Worldwide Inc., Marriott International Inc., Starwood Hotels & Resorts Inc. and others, are scaling back their time-share business as investors in time-share loans demand higher interest rates, buyers become more scarce and resales of time shares put downward pressure on prices and demand for new units. Read More ... TOURISM OFFICE ASKS 5,000 TO INVITE
FRIENDS AND FAMILY TO SLEEP OVER IN PHILLY
This summer, as part of the new With Love, Philadelphia XOXO marketing campaign, the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) is asking 5,000 Philadelphians to send postcards to friends and family all over the country inviting them to visit Philadelphia and stay over in a hotel. Read More ... |
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AIRLINE TESTS MOBILE BAG CHECK-
IN
The Boston Globe reports if you're in need of assistance from an American Airlines agent at Logan Airport in the next six weeks, you won't necessarily have to stand in line at the counter to get it. Starting Monday, the airline plans to test 20 mobile devices that allow employees to check bags and provide gate information, flight times, and boarding status from anywhere in the building. Read More ... MOBILE GADGETS THREATEN IN-FLIGHT
ENTERTAINMENT
Airlines around the world now spend millions of dollars annually upgrading their inflight entertainment systems, but iPods and other mobile entertainment gadgets could render all that useless. Besides bland airline food, one other certainty for most long-haul travelers flying in economy class has always been time passed with movies and games on a minuscule 5-inch screen provided by the airline. Read More ... AIR TRAVELERS CAN EXPECT FEWER
FLIGHTS THIS FALL
Airline passengers will see fewer nonstop flights, less convenient travel options and possibly higher ticket prices and fees in the coming months as major carriers make big capacity cuts this fall season for the second year in a row. Earnings reports for the April- June quarter this week showed airlines are desperate to raise revenue as they head into their traditionally slow period. Six of nine major U.S. airlines reported profits in the quarter, but sales were down for most thanks to weak demand and lower fares. Read More ... STUDY: JETBLUE, ALASKA AIRLINES
SATISFY CUSTOMERS
Alaska Airlines ranks highest in customer satisfaction among traditional network carriers, while JetBlue Airways ranks highest among low-cost carriers, according to the J.D. Power and Associates' 2009 North America Airline Satisfaction Study, released this week. Read More ... |
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5 ESSENTIALS FOR SOCIAL MEDIA
MARKETING
Social media marketing isn't a quick, free way to impact your bottom line says HotelMarketing. It isn't something that you should give to an intern because they know how to set up a MySpace page. Social media marketing is a great tool for getting your company seen and heard, building brand awareness, and increasing leads and sales. But you have to do it the right way and invest the work and time upfront to make it reap real returns for your business. Read More... STUDY: SOCIAL MEDIA PAYS
One of the major hurdles to increased spending on social media has been lingering skepticism about what kind of payoff companies actually get from conversional marketing. In short, is it worth it? A study released Monday says "yes," drawing a link between brands' social media efforts and revenue growth says OnlineMediaDaily. Read More... STUDY: MOBILE TECH TO IMPACT TRAVEL
INDUSTRY
Recent ComScore data reveals that across the US, UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain, there were almost 7 million mobile browsers that accessed remote services or information related to travel, a significant shift given that only a few years ago this number would have been very close to zero. The US in particular has experienced phenomenal growth with an increase of almost 62% during 2008. The continuous and stable growth in the penetration of mobile web usage in many travel markets is a clear indicator that mobile browsing is becoming more mainstream. Read More... TWITTER COMES TO THE
RESCUE
As hotels, airlines and other travel companies line up on Twitter to promote their brands, customers who voice their grievances in the form of tweets are getting surprisingly fast responses for everything from bad airplane seats to poor room service says an article in The New York Times. Take Tony Wagner, 34, a new-media director for an academic group in Washington. Read More... |
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SOURCES
Appreciation is given to Ted Molter, CalTIA Board member, chair of the Membership Committee and Director of Marketing for the San Diego Zoo & Wild Animal Park, for his effort in gathering the many valuable sources of information to produce this newsletter. E-Turbo News and Travel Wire News Publisher: Thomas Steinmetz , Editor-in-Chief: Nelson Alcantara, Copyright © 2006 eTurbo News, Inc. All rights reserved. eTurboNews, Inc, PO Box 208, Haleiwa, Hawaii 96712-0208 USA PH: +1-808-521-2800 US/Canada Toll-free: 1- 888-884-8822 Global Toll-free: ++800-520-0280 FAX: +1-310-362-8973 / www.eturbonews.com / www.travelwirenews.com TravelDailyNews International is a project of Travel Media Applications. TMA is the travel industry's leading technology company, assisting travel companies to take advantage of the Internet and new technologies. TMA owns and operates TravelDailyNews Greece & Cyprus & Travel For All, offers communication tools and services for the tourism market and represents major tourism exhibitions such as International Luxury Travel Market (ILTM). Travel Media Applications 47 & 49, Byzantiou Street 171 22 N. Smyrni, Athens, Greece Tel: +30 210 93 74 050, +30 210 93 74 052 Fax: +30 210 93 74 051 E-mail: tma@tma.gr Ferri & Partners Marketing & Tourism Trends is provided free-of-charge to leaders in the industry by Ferri & Partners, a communications and public relations agency specializing in strategic communications and marketing. newsletter@ferriandpartners.com. International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) member e-newsletter. |
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The California Travel Industry Association
(CalTIA),
incorporated in 1981, represents the
California travel industry. It is an independent,
nonprofit association unifying California's many
travel-related businesses to ensure the future
health of tourism through our collective strength
and corporate activities. CalTIA's mission is to
serve as a catalyst for the various
elements of our industry. It is dedicated to
increasing our educational standards, articulating
our political concerns, and promoting the economic
well-being of California tourism. CalTIA is a
partnership of action, in action! The Association
serves as a vehicle to support our industry. Only
through our willingness -- yours -- to become involved,
can we effect the necessary changes and ensure the
future health of our businesses, the California
economy, and the California travel industry.
(916) 932-2580
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