November 17, 2011

MARKETING AMERICA: THE ‘UNITED STATES OF AWESOME POSSIBILITIES’
Say hello to the "United States of Awesome Possibilities." That's the tagline for a new ad campaign designed to promote the U.S. of A., an effort to boost business and leisure travel in order to spur economic growth, Advertising Age reports. The campaign, set to launch next year, is the brainchild of the Corporation for Travel Promotion (CTP), a private-public partnership formed to encourage tourism, with a marketing budget of $200 million. The corporation calls the push "the first-ever coordinated global marketing effort dedicated to welcoming international travelers to the United States."  (Yahoo! News)
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CORPORATION FOR TRAVEL PROMOTION BECOMES BRAND USA
The U.S. is now "the United States of Awesome Possibilities" —at least that's how America is trying to rebrand itself. Unlike other countries, the U.S. never had a unified marketing system for tourism. Last year, Congress formed the Corporation for Travel Promotion for that purpose, and on Monday, the group unveiled a new name — Brand USA. As Brand USA Inc., the group introduced its global brand strategy of representing the diversity of the people and the land, before an international audience in London. (Alligator)
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WTM: US TOURISM BODY UNVEILS ‘HISTORIC’ BRAND USA THEME
The US Corporation for Travel Promotion has officially unveiled its new brand message at World Travel Market 2011. The Brand USA imagery, on display in the US area of the show, will form the cornerstone of a global marketing campaign due to launch in March. To tie in with the launch, the Corporation for Travel Promotion will now also operate as Brand USA Inc, ensuring its brand and corporate messages are aligned. (Travel Weekly)
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FORECAST FOR TOURISM IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA IS POSITIVE
Southern California’s tourism and hotel industries have rebounded strongly from the recession and are expected to continue to improve next year. That was the message issued Thursday by industry leaders attending the 2011 Southern California Visitors Industry Outlook Conference in Anaheim, an annual gathering of the region’s convention, hotel and tourism leaders. While hotels suffered steep drops in demand and revenue in 2008 and 2009, industry leaders said Thursday that a decline in construction of new hotels and an increase in demand from business travelers and international visitors should push revenue and occupancy levels back to pre-recession levels by next year. (Los Angeles Times)
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SAN MATEO COUNTY TO REAP BENEFITS FROM AMERICA’S CUP RACES, OFFICIAL SAYS
When the America's Cup races sail into San Francisco in 2012 and 2013 they will deliver $1.4 billion in economic benefits to the Bay Area, San Mateo County Supervisors were told Tuesday. Adam Van De Water, San Francisco's assistant project director for the 34th America's Cup, told supervisors the international sailing competition will also generate about 8,800 jobs, mostly in the construction, transportation, food, beverage and hospitality industries…The America's Cup finals will be held in San Francisco Bay during the summer of 2013, but there will also be an America's Cup "World Series" competition there in August 2012. (Mercury News)
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A WINE INDUSTRY FIRST IN NAPA NORTH AMERICA TOURISM CONFERENCE PLANNED FOR NOV. 16-17
Tourist destinations are built around wine regions — places where people can see where the grapes are grown, taste the wines where they are made and enjoy a wine country restaurant or hotel experience. But there is still work to be done in drawing visitors to your location. How do you create a tourist destination? How do you draw more visitors? What are the economics of tourism, from marketing materials to staffing to tasting rooms for wineries? These questions and a host of others will be answered at North America’s first Wine Tourism Conference on Nov. 16 and 17 at the Marriott Napa Valley. (Napa Valley Register) 
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SANTA BARBARA TOURISM ON THE UPSWING
Speakers at the 2012 Travel Outlook Conference, an annual event organized by the Santa Barbara Visitors Bureau and Film Commission, expressed cautious optimism about the tourism industry in Santa Barbara. Bureau member were provided wide swaths of information and statistics that officials thought served to justify their hopeful forecast. The first speaker, Dan Mishell, director of research for the California Travel & Tourism Commission, explained how factors like international exchange rates and gas prices impact tourism in markets like Santa Barbara (beachside, close to a major metropolitan area, West Coast). The data is rather encouraging: After a dramatic three-year decline, lodging occupancy numbers look to be rebounding statewide at an almost equally dramatic pace. (Santa Barbara Independent) 
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DEATH VALLEY: THREE MILLION ACRES OF WEIRD
…Death Valley’s mysteries and its extremes have always intrigued me. So earlier this year, I made the pilgrimage to this three million acre expanse on the California-Nevada border, following the footsteps of unknown numbers of old-time prospectors and oddballs. Part of the draw for me (and, no doubt, for the countless others who visit each year) is the valley’s remoteness and the peculiar air of excitement that being in such a lonely locale can inspire. Forget about being lost at sea; I’ve rarely felt more isolated than I did in Death Valley, whose eastern tip is some 75 miles (as the buzzard flies) west of Las Vegas. Yet, despite its name and foreboding reputation, what I found was a place teeming with pockets of life, from tough tortoises to equally hardy tourists. (The New York Times)           
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THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE THIS HOME
The dream home that megarich entrepreneur William Randolph Hearst built nearly a century ago atop a hill in the obscurity of Northern California remains one of California's top tourist attractions (despite the difficulty in getting there) and the most expensive private home ever built. It's highly unlikely that anything like it will ever be built on this planet again, which alone makes the castle well worth a visit. (The Province)       
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QUIETER SIDE OF CALIFORNIA’S SURF, SPA SCENE
When winter hits in the Great White North many Canadians dream of a sunny Southern California retreat. Two key destinations known for their surf and spa lifestyle are the small towns of Ojai and Ventura, a mere 90-minute drive by freeway north of the urban L.A. sprawl. Unlike Malibu, Santa Monica or Venice Beach in the big city, neither is crowded and relaxation is guaranteed. Although located just a few minutes apart, the two resorts couldn’t be more different. (The Province)       
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MAGIC TIME IN THE REDWOOD FOREST
The old logging train out of Willits makes its way slowly through the darkened valley of the redwoods, its windows spattered with cold, steady rain, and inches its way to a stop among the utilitarian wooden structures of isolated Camp Mendocino. A couple of hundred passengers, mostly in good spirits from having consumed Mendocino mimosas on board, make their way through the chilling, late-morning drizzle to a large temporary tent where they each are handed a plate and a wine glass. Welcome to the Mendocino Wine and Mushroom Festival. (iSante Magazine)       
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REVOLVER, DEBAUCHERY COME TO WEST HOLLYWOOD
The setting last week of the largest Halloween celebration in the world, West Hollywood's always-festive Santa Monica Boulevard buzzed with revelers curious to check out a couple of new "Boys Town" hot spots. The name Revolver should bring back plenty of memories if you hung out in West Hollywood in the '80s and '90s - the famously dapper and always-packed gay video bar occupied a handsome space at the corner of Larrabee Street for more than 20 years, before closing in 2004 and morphing into somewhat fancier gay lounge called East West. (About.com)       
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SACRAMENTO AIRPORT’S ARTFUL TERMINAL B
More airports are gracing their public spaces with art displays. One of the most notable is Sacramento International Airport, whose new $1-billion Terminal B is now exhibiting 12 major public pieces. Airport passengers passing through are able to view the collection, and the general public is invited to attend guided tours that will run through the end of the year. (Los Angeles Times)       
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SAN FRANCISCO’S OVER-THE-TOP UNDERGROUND
San Francisco isn't really an underground kind of place. We don't go in for noir the way L.A. does. And unlike New York, we don't require a lot of insider knowledge to make it here. Truth be told, we San Franciscans prefer keeping our underground culture above ground, where everybody can see it. That said, we do reserve a few secrets for ourselves. Although we're not above sharing — another San Francisco trait — all you have to do is ask. Here are five insider tips to lead you to an underground San Francisco that really is — more or less — underground. (Los Angeles Times)
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GOING SLOW IN SONOMA
How does a popular wine country town just outside of San Francisco become America’s first “cittaslow” city? Apparently, as Sonoma discovered, by just being itself...Obtaining the cittaslow ((Italian for “slow city”) designation isn’t easy. To start with, it’s invite only. And then, just because a city is invited to apply doesn’t mean it is a shoe-in. Invited cities go through a rigorous application process to prove they embody Cittaslow values. Chief among these is the concept of the slow food movement, sustainable agricultural practices, conservation of and support for traditional artisan products, hospitality programs, historic preservation, and educational programs for all ages. The next time you are in Sonoma, “sit a down” and relax. (USA Today)       
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SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CLOSE-UPS: FROM WEST HOLLYWOOD TO WILSHIRE
Set an out-of-towner loose to roam the Los Angeles area between West Hollywood and Koreatown and what can you expect? A food-truck overdose, perhaps. Or the bold suggestion that we extend our subway system westward. (Hey, we're working on it.) Or maybe just your basic Asian-Russian-Latino-gay-vegetarian-barbecue-automotive-modernist-tar-pit-chili-dog weekend. In other words, it's a trip worth taking, and a great way to catch the city in the act of reinventing itself, from the Japanese department store that's now a car museum to the Jewish avenue that's now a skateboarder haven.  (Chicago Tribune)       
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ZOOM IN ON SAN DIEGO
With its waterfront convention centre and downtown airport, ranks of corporate hotels and position among California’s cool ideas and hot markets, San Diego is all business. But it also beckons you to come out and play, from its coastal setting, idyllic climate and burgeoning craft-beer industry to iconic attractions and theatres presenting Broadway’s best. (The Globe and Mail)       
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THE WORLD’S MOST UNUSUAL BEACHES
Compared to green sand or vanishing tides, 'round rocks' don't initially sound like reason enough to visit this Californian beach. And yet, when you get down there and see the 'bowling balls' sitting like some tidy giant's game on the sand, you can't help but get a thrill. Best seen at low tide, the rocks are freakily round and freakily regular, and clustered together as if they've been placed there. The truth is, they're stubborn. The softer rock around them washed away, but these tough customers withstood the waves. (The Sydney Morning Herald)       
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NORTH AFRICA IS IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA! SAFARI WEST IS IN SANTA ROSA, NEAR SONOMA AND NAPA – JUST 2-1/2 HOURS FROM SAN FRANCISCO
I found some very exciting attractions while touring northern California! Safari West is compared to the African Serengeti! The sounds of animals greet you at the entrance. Safari West is not a zoo…It was thrilling with animals all around us as we drove further and further into the preserve. The two- hour tour was filled with surprises. After the tour you can stay for the day walking around the cages of monkeys, birds, foxes and other animals. (Associated Content from Yahoo!)       
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I LEFT MY HEART IN SAN FRANCISCO (TWICE)
… Caen's love affair with Baghdad By The Bay, his nickname for San Francisco and the title of his newspaper column, wasn't perfect. There was always one piece or another he wanted fixed. But not by much. "One day if I do go to heaven," he memorably wrote, "I'll look around and say, 'It ain't bad, but it ain't San Francisco.' " San Francisco does that to people, even to those who should be able to resist the temptation. (Ottawa Citizen)       
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TRAVEL BACK TO THE OLD WEST IN JULIAN
Let the scent of bubbling apples and cinnamon lead you to a memorable fall outing in the mountains above San Diego. Bathed in the orange- and yellow-splashed leaves of fall, you will find a sparkling nugget of early California history in the Gold Rush town of Julian. This quaint, historic city that was founded on gold fever now offers a bounty of apple pies at every turn, along with crisp, autumn days that make you long to snuggle in front of a cozy fire. (The Desert Sun)       
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