VISIT USA NOW! ISSUE 100 | JANUARY 2012 New VISIT USA website now live The brand new 'Visit the USA'
website represents a tremendous step forward for the Visit USA Association and its members. The new site provides a solid platform
for engaging visitors who wish to research into and visit the USA – and has been specifically designed to channel all bookings and enquiries that it generates back to the trade to fulfil. The homepage offers inspirational
ideas for US holidays together with latest news stories and special offers. Users can also click on buttons such as ‘Where can I go?’, ‘What can I do?’ and ‘When to visit?’ to help formulate holiday ideas. Additional website innovations include an opportunity to view and order a
Welcome to 2012 and a year that we
are confident will be a great one for the USA and for everybody selling the USA as a holiday destination. Last year (2011) saw a year on year
range of brochures – including the new Visit the USA – see videos and sign up for USA Travel News, the regular Visit
USA email newsletter. Check out all the new features at
www.visitusa.org.uk
Half-term in
Virgin snow Virgin Holidays has released
some outstanding deals for the February half-term week in 2012, giving ski and snowboard-mad families the chance to enjoy exceptional conditions. With snowfall already reaching
between three and nine feet, North American and Canadian resorts are expecting a bumper year. Seven nights in Heavenly, including scheduled flights with Virgin Atlantic from Heathrow to San Francisco, accommodation at the 4V Harveys Lake Tahoe on a room-only basis with car hire included starts from £785. Seven nights in North Conway, including scheduled flights with Virgin Atlantic from London Heathrow to Boston, accommodation at the 3V Hampton Inn & Suites North Conway on a continental breakfast basis with car hire included starts from £939. Prices are per person for
February 11 departures based on two adults and two children (under 12) travelling and sharing a standard room, including taxes and fuel surcharges (subject to change).
www.virginholidays.co.uk
22 January 2012 •
www.sellinglonghaul.com
Colorado showers $50 million on its ski resorts
Colorado has invested more than $50
million in renovations and upgrades for the 2011/2012 ski season. According to the National Ski Areas Association, the USA had more skier visits in 2010/11 than any previous ski season in history, surpassing the 60 million mark. And Colorado's resorts accounted for more of these visits than any other state in the nation with more than one in five skiers choosing to ski in Colorado, making the Rocky Mountain state America’s best skiing destinations. “The facilities available to skiers in Colorado are amongst some of the finest in the world. Colorado continues to set the standard with advanced improvements ranging from state-of-the art lifts and ticketing systems to
on-mountain amenities,” commented Melanie Mills at Ski Country USA. Its popularity with the British market
is due to the consistently excellent powder snow as a result of the high altitude, shorter lift queues, good family facilities and high standards of accommodation, food and service. New lifts will be installed on Aspen/
Snowmass’s Buttermilk Mountain, Copper Mountain, Loveland, Monarch and Beaver Creek, a new magic carpet is being installed in Ski Cooper for beginners and innovative features are being added to a number of the resorts' terrain parks. Contact Cellet on 08456 020 574 or
email
Fiona@cellet.co.uk www.colorado.com
growth in UK visitor numbers to the USA and we hope 2012 will be even better. Visit USA is kicking off the year with a brand new website (see lead story on these pages) and the site has been specifically designed to channel all bookings and enquiries that it generates back to the trade to fulfil. The Association will also be running
its main trade activities this year including our hugely successful trade agent roadshows and our on-line training programme, hosted by Travel Uni at
www.visitusatraining.com. This year will also see the promotion
of the USA increase with the launch of Brand USA in the UK and other international markets around the world. The consumer marketing launch, set for spring 2012, should certainly help ensure the USA is the headline travel destination for 2012 and beyond. With a tough 12 months ahead, the
USA hopes to appeal to the UK trade and consumer visitors with a diverse offering, in a safe and trusted destination, coupled with some great air fares and hotel rates and a competitive exchange rate too. See you in the USA in 2012.
Jonathan Sloan Visit USA
Earthquake!
Earthquake, a major new exhibit and planetarium show, will open at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco on May 26. The exhibit will feature a walk-through model of the Earth and an earthquake simulator resembling an old Victorian home. Concurrently, a new planetarium show
will take audiences through space and time – flying over the San Andreas fault before diving into the planet’s interior,
www.calacademy.org
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