California Shines In Canada
A mega-delegation of California destination representatives are in Canada this week to meet with agents and operators and make sure they know that not only are Canadians welcome, – well, actually everyone is – but that the state offers a wide range of tourism experiences that will appeal to virtually everyone.
With stops planned in Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver, the trade delegation includes representatives from the Beverly Hills Conference & Visitors Bureau, the Central Coast Tourism Council, Greater Palm Springs Convention & Visitors Bureau, Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board, North Coast Tourism Council, San Diego Tourism Authority, Santa Monica Travel & Tourism, Visit Huntington Beach, Visit Oakland and Visit Santa Barbara, along with representatives from Visit California.
At the Toronto event last night, Visit California’s travel trade manager, Alison Theodore thanked the close to 80 agents on hand for the evening’s festivities for their support past, present and in the future.
Theodore pointed out that Visit California and the state’s tourism industry has invested heavily and globally to make sure that people around the world know what California has on offer and, by doing that, help agents sell the state’s tourism product more effectively.
She also updated agents on the revamped California Star program for retailers.
The new, B2B platform has been completely re-invented and offers agents a wide range of options, including an agency training program, a wide variety of sales tools – including interactive itineraries, videos, bookmarking features and lots more.
Agents can check it out by going to http://star.visitcalifornia.com/ca.
Oh, and surprise of the evening was the fact that Bob Blumer, well-known California food personality, was on hand to prepare dinner for those attending, giving them a taste of what California is all about.
Pictured (l-r) are culinary adventurer and educator, Bob Blumer; Visit California’s Alison Theodore; and the winner of a grand prize trip to California (valued at US$6,000), Rosalba Chiappetta of CWT Concierge Travel in Mississauga.
