SHOW REPORT POW WOW, SAN FRANCISCO
Private flights at coach tour prices
This year’s Pow Wow – the 43rd – was held in San Francisco, California (May 21-25). Alan Orbell and Sally Parker report on some of the show’s major stories
California’s quick royal reaction Visit California has been swift to
react to the imminent visit (July 8-10) of the new royal couple, William and Katherine, with a ‘Three Days Isn’t Enough’ campaign to encourage visitors to stay longer in the Golden State. The California Travel & Tourism Commission has also launched a new travel trade portal specifically to market and sell California – traveltrade.
visitcalifornia.com One aid to selling the state will be
what’s described as ‘the renaissance of LAX’ with Los Angeles’ largest-ever public works project ($4.11billion). The first phase of the development,
which will effectively see Los Angeles obtain a brand-new airport, is due to open on 12/12/12 with the second phase following a year later.
www.visitcalifornia.com and
www.lawa.org
IN BRIEF
It's win win with Sundance Agents and clients both benefit by
early bookings for Sundance helicopter tours in Las Vegas – including the best-selling Grand Canyon Picnic. Agents because they earn 10 to 15 per cent commission and clients through avoiding hefty in-resort booking fees and surcharges.
www.sundancehelicopters.com
12 June 2011 •
www.sellinglonghaul.com
Vegas visitors playing new games Only eight per cent of visitors to Las
Vegas now come primarily for the gaming, superceded by entertainment and shopping, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. In 2010 international visitors made up 18% of the total, which LCVA wants to raise to 30% by 2020.
www.visitlasvegas.com
A Golden Gate birthday A Golden Gate Festival, the culmination of the Golden Gate Bridge’s 75th anniversary programme, is to be held next May 26-27 (Memorial Day weekend), on San Francisco’s Crissy Field. The two-day festival will recall the Golden Gate Bridge Fiesta, held when the bridge opened in 1937. www.
goldengatebridge75.org
Escorted air cruises using 30-seat private planes and private airports have been launched by Florida-based Mauiva and Tourico Holidays, initially offering daily east coast and west coast US itineraries. The air cruises bring huge savings in travel time and at prices comparable with – and often cheaper than – equivalent coach tours. Described as a ground-breaking concept, all-inclusive Mauiva AirCruises include inter-USA flights, airport lounge access, de-luxe coach transfer, hotel stays in ‘upscale four-star hotels’, breakfast and dinner daily, all attractions, local tour guides, gratuities and porterage, which means luggage is waiting for clients when they reach their hotel. The five night/six-full-day All-American Experience starts and ends in New York visiting Niagara Falls, Toronto, Hershey, Lancaster and Harrisburg in Pennsylvania and Washington DC. The itinerary includes 11 meals and 20 attractions with a three-hour-nine minute travelling time
compared with almost 29 hours by coach. The Western Wonder Experience is a six-night/seven-full-day tour beginning and finishing in Los Angeles with 11 stops along the way including Monterey, San Francisco, Napa Valley, Yosemite National Park, Las Vegas and Grand Canyon. Thirteen meals and 21 attractions are included with an estimated five hours 40 minute travel time (compared with 30 hours by coach). An Orlando, Miami, Cancun, Montego
San Francisco has wind in its sails San Francisco will be the venue for
the 34th America’s Cup, the ultimate sailing challenge, and for the first time ever the races will be close to the shore enabling land-based visitors to watch. The two classes of boats are expected to reach speeds of between 30 and 45mph. The new America’s Cup 72 World
series will be held in August/September 2012 with the prestigious Louis Vuitton Cup in July/August 2013 and the America’s Cup Final in September 2013. Other notable events in San Francisco include Opera in the Park on September 11 2011 and the Centennial Season of the word-renowned San Francisco Symphony between September 7, 2011 and June 30, 2012.
In the city centre, The Grand Hyatt
San Francisco on Stockton Street will have completed a full renovation by the end of August 2011. Tourism is worth some $8billion to
San Francisco and the city enjoys one of the highest percentages of international visitors, currently 30%.
www.sanfrancisco.travel
Bay, Bahamas and Key West itinerary will be available in the winter. Prices for the tours are $1499 for the
east coast itinerary and $1799 for the west coast itinerary with commission from 20%. The tours will be available through UK tour operators. Fly, Stay and Drive packages from $799 are also available. These include inter-USA flights, hotel accommodation with breakfast and hire car, including insurance.
www.mauivaaircruise.com
Get more of Lower Manhattan NYC & Company has launched a
year-long global campaign called Get More NYC: Lower Manhattan to, promote Lower Manhattan to visitors by illustrating the recovery and revitalisation of the area since 9/11. Focus of the area’s renaissance will be
the 9/11 memorial which will be dedicated on September 11, 2011 with a museum following one year later. The campaign will encourage visitors to stay, eat and shop in Lower Manhattan’s hotels and to experience what the neighbourhood has to offer. To communicate the campaign, NYC
& Co has launched a social media initiative to promote the city’s attractions and events and special content on
nycgo.com’s mobile site (
m.nycgo.com) highlighting venues in Lower Manhattan, must-see listings and maps. Full information on the campaign is at
nycgo.com/getmorenyc. On the accommodation front, New
York had 86,230 hotel rooms at the end of April 2011 and 40% of hotel openings this year are outside Manhattan. There are around 40 accommodation projects in the pipeline between now and 2013.
www.nycgo.com
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