CALIFORNIA'S OUTDOOR ECONOMY IS THRIVING

On a towering cliff overlooking the sun-sparkled shores of Carlsbad, Calif., Dawn Santos watched a squadron of pelicans fly past the campsite where she and her family were staying for four days of campfires, bike rides and splashing in the surf.

"It's gorgeous," the Rancho Cucamonga mother of three marveled as the afternoon sky turned bright pink.

Here at South Carlsbad State Beach in San Diego County, the Santos family took a break from work and school by renting a 26-foot trailer to enjoy one of California's most valuable economic assets - its outdoor riches.

The state's beaches, mountains and deserts offer more than just aesthetic beauty. They represent a vital economic engine that employs thousands of public workers, creates millions of private-sector jobs and generates billions of tax dollars. And now those outdoor resources may help pull the state out of a financial bind.

"California has had a reputation of having some of the most incredible parks and beaches," said John Severini, president of the California Travel Industry Assn., a trade group. "It's one of the very elements that attract a lot of people to our state." Read More...

CALIFORNIA WATERPARKS INTRODUCING NEW ATTRACTIONS

Raging Waters San Jose will introduce the "Bombs Away" waterslide with a trap-door entry. Waterworld California in Concord will introduce Calypso Cabana Village with concierge service. Several other new attractions and shows at California parks are listed. Read More... 

PRIVATIZATION PLAN PRESENTED FOR LOS ANGELES ZOO & BOTANICAL GARDENS

Los Angeles' chief administrative officer recommended the zoo be turned over to a nonprofit private operator next year. He said privatization would help increase attendance and revenue as well as allow more flexibility in operations and fundraising. It currently costs $26 million annually to run the zoo, and costs are expected to increase 25 percent in five years. The proposal is opposed by the president of a union representing nearly 230 zookeepers and other employees. Read More... 

MORE THAN 1,300 U.S. MUSEUMS OFFER MILITARY FAMILIES FREE ADMISSION

The Blue Star Museums program has added 500 new destinations offering free admission for active duty military personnel and their families from Memorial Day to Labor Day. The program is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts. Read More... 

Push to OK Gambling Inside Las Vegas Hotel Rooms Gains Momentum

What are the odds that Nevada legislators will approve gambling inside Las Vegas hotel rooms?

As of Friday, they're higher than they were on Thursday, the Las Vegas Review-Journal tells us.

Despite concerns that in-room gambling could open the door to underage gambling, Nevada's senate judiciary committee on Friday morning unanimously approved a bill that would allow it, the paper reports. Read More... 

Consumer Reports just released its survey of ten U.S. airlines and in terms of overall satisfaction Southwest landed on top and JetBlue in second place. US Airways hit the tarmac in last place, just as it did in CR's last airline survey back in 2007. Of those surveyed who said they had cut back on air travel, 40% said added fees were the reason.  

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United Airlines and Continental Airlines, which merged in October, have taken another step in their integration.

Starting at Chicago O'Hare International Airport, the merged airlines will transform airport check-in and boarding areas with new airport signage reflecting the new United's branding.

The company will then re-brand airports worldwide in phases over the next several months, beginning with airports in its hub cities.

Both carriers have aligned their policies and procedures with regards to same-day flight changes, standby requests, unaccompanied minor handling, in-cabin pet acceptance and charges for additional services. Read More... 

Frequent Flier's Tips for Dealing with Jet Lag

Brett Snyder, who writes the travel blog The Cranky Flier, wrote an interesting article for CNN on dealing with jet lag. I'll vouch for how well some of his suggestions work - I've been using several of them for years. Read More...

Will Air Travel Ever Get Better?

Once upon a time, flying was fun - or at least a pleasurable experience most of the time. Now, cramped seating, long security lines and numerous fees tacked on to the price of a ticket are among the many unpleasantries facing air travelers today. Will it ever get better again? An article in today's Wall Street Journal examines how technology may improve many aspects of air travel in the future.

Though airplanes will likely continue to fly full for the foreseeable future, more spacious cabins in newer aircraft may give airline passengers more personal space, or at least the illusion of it.

New aircraft soon entering service will eliminate dry cabins and increase air pressure to make flying more comfortable and less tiring. The new Boeing 787, set to launch this summer, will feature larger windows than contemporary aircraft and allow passengers to adjust the amount of light passing through the window without a window shade.

Radio frequency identification (RFID) technology will serve as permanent baggage tags, eliminating the need to print temporary luggage tags for every flight. This new technology will help track and minimize lost bags. Read More...

TRAVEL BOSS HITS OUT AT GOGGLE'S NEW SEARCH SYSTEM

You've spent considerable time and resources (some brands spend up to $50,000!) creating your interactive Facebook fan page. You're developing fun content (polls and quizzes, videos, the latest news, etc.) for your core customers to engage and interact with. Maybe you're running promotions and contests or selling products and services as well. While all of these activities are considered a must in order to successfully connect and interact with your customers on Facebook, here's some hard hitting evidence that you may be wasting your time (and money) with the fan page!

90% - The unofficial percentage of fans who visit a Facebook fan page once and never return is at just slightly higher than ninety percent! I must repeat this...ninety percent!!

Want more bad news?! Enter Facebook's EdgeRank algorithm...

Because of Facebook's EdgeRank system, only 1-2% of that fun, interactive content I mention above actually reaches your fans' news feed!

Here's why... Facebook looks at the content (videos, pics, wall posts, etc.) you create as "objects."  An object's EdgeRank is determined by three factors: affinity (the score given to the relationship between creator and user), weight (interaction with the object - likes, comments, tags, etc.) and timeliness (length of time between when content was created and engaged with). Read More... 

A MARKETING LESSON FROM THE APOCALYPSE

If you're reading this blog, then the world didn't end, at least in my time zone.

How does one market the end of the world? After all, you don't have a big ad budget. Your 'product' is something that has been marketed again and again through the ages and it has never worked. There's significant peer pressure not to buy it...

And yet, every time, people succumb. They sell their belongings, stop paying into their kid's college fund and create tension and despair.

Here's the simple lesson:

Sell a story that some people want to believe. In fact, sell a story they already believe.

The story has to be integrated into your product. The iPad, for example, wasn't something that people were clamoring for... but the story of it, the magic tablet, the universal book, the ticket to the fashion-geek tribe-there was a line out the door for that. The same way that every year, we see a new music sensation, a new fashion superstar. That's not an accident. That story is just waiting for someone to wear it.

And the some part is vital. Not everyone wants to believe in the end of the world, but some people (fortunately, just a few) really do. To reach them, you don't need much of a hard sell at all.

Too often marketers take a product and try to invent a campaign. Much more effective is to find a tribe, find a story and make a product that resonates, one that makes the story work.

That's the whole thing. A story that resonates and a tribe that's tight and small and eager.

I hope you can dream up something more productive than the end of the world, though. Read More...