All Dreams Welcome
About 120 Toronto-area travel trade VIPs learned first hand that All Dreams Are Welcome in California, as a mega-delegation of the Golden state’s top tourism executives greeted them at a reception and dinner (prepared by celebrity chef, Bob Blumer) last night (May 25).
“Tonight, we want to welcome you into our living room,” observed Visit California’s president and CEO, Caroline Beteta. “We’re friends of Canada and Canada has been a friend to California and we want to roll out the red carpet to you and your clients.”
Beteta led the high-profile group of senior executives representing the state’s cities, coastal communities, wine region, destinations and accommodations on a two-day mission to Toronto and the group met with officials from tour operators, airlines, credit card companies and other partners during that time.
“Canada remains one of California’s top tourism markets year after year, in part because of our countries’ long-standing friendship and the affinity between our two cultures,” observed Visit California’s Beteta.
She pointed out that: “California has so much to offer the Canadian traveller, from beach to the desert and from culinary to culture, there is always something new to discover – even for the repeat visitor.”
For California, Canada is the state’s second largest international market based on arrivals which, in 2016, are projected to hit 1.54 million visitors.
Those Canadian visitors stay an average of 5 days and spend about $1,300 per trip which, when you total it up, comes out at $2.3 billion – and that’s a huge impact on the state’s economy.
Not surprisingly, Visit California is investing heavily in the Canadian market in its 2016-2017 fiscal.
The state will spend US$3.97 million for a direct-to-consumer brand campaign, travel trade and public relations programs.
“This mission highlights the importance of the Canadian market to California’s tourism industry,” Beteta said.
And she added: “We invite our northern neighbours to dream big and experience all that the Golden State has to offer.”
Seen in the photo, from l to r, attending the VIP event in Toronto’s Distillery District are Air Canada’s Steve Goodfellow; Visit California’s Caroline Beteta; and TravelBrands’ Frank DeMarinis.
