INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL TRADE FAMS, TRADE SHOWS & EVENTS
DERtour Germany - Visit California FAM
L.A. Tourism, in partnership with Visit California, hosted two familiarization tours April 14-16 and April 23-25 for DERtour, one of the largest tour operators in Germany. The educational trip showcased Los Angeles as a car-free destination and highlighted several LATCB members that provide alternative ways to see the city without a car. The diverse itinerary featured various Starline Tours’ CitySightseeing Hop-on, Hop-off routes, a bike tour with Perry’s Beach Café and Rentals, Hornblower Cruises and tour of Marina del Rey, as well as a walking tour of West Hollywood.
ANZ Travel Counsellors – Air New Zealand FAM
L.A. Tourism, in partnership with Air New Zealand, hosted a luxury familiarization tour April 19-23. The group consisted of 10 travel representatives from Travel Counsellors based within the U.K. The trip educated attendees on L.A.’s new products and showcased luxury experiences including accommodations at Garland Hotel, VIP experience at Universal Studios Hollywood, luxury shopping in Beverly Hills, and as well as PUMP in West Hollywood.
Online Travel Agencies – Cathay Pacific Airlines FAM
L.A. Tourism hosted a familiarization tour April 18-22 for an executive group from Cathay Pacific Airlines' leading partner Online Travel Agencies (OTA). The educational trip showcased L.A.’s unique experiences including a visit to Malibu Family Wines, shopping at the Beverly Center, dinner at WP24 at the J.W. Marriott L.A. LIVE, a performance of “Cinderella” at the Ahmanson Theatre and experiences at the Getty Villa and Universal Studios Hollywood, among others.
Shanghai Airlines Tours International FAM
L.A. Tourism hosted a familiarization tour April 2-6 for 12 agents from Shanghai Airlines Tour International (SATI), a tour organizer and operator based in Shanghai, China. SATI has been among China’s top 100 international travel services since 1993 and is a national top-10 outbound travel company. The educational trip showcased L.A.’s products that best cater to free independent travelers (FIT) and groups, with a focus on friends & family experiences. Their diverse itinerary included accommodations at Sheraton Universal and J.W. Marriott L.A. LIVE, experiences at The Grove, Getty Center, GRAMMY Museum and the Original Farmers Market, among others.
GO Holidays New Zealand – Air Tahiti Nui FAM
L.A. Tourism, in partnership with Air Tahiti Nui, hosted a familiarization tour April 19-22 for a group of agents with GO Holidays New Zealand to promote the airline’s New Zealand-Tahiti –LAX route. The educational itinerary showcased accommodations at Wyndham Santa Monica, guided bike tour to Venice Beach with Perry’s Beach Café and Rentals, pre-dinner drinks at Hotel Erwin’s rooftop lounge High and dinner at Barlo Kitchen and Cocktails.
Best Day Travel – Aeromexico FAM
L.A. Tourism, in partnership with Aeromexico, hosted a familiarization tour April 27-30 for a group of agents from Best Day Travel, Mexico's largest online travel agency. The agency’s website (bestday.com) receives more than 1.5 million visitors each month and their wholesale division manages their own contracts. This tour was an incentive trip for Best Day's agents with the highest sales of Los Angeles products during April 2015. Their itinerary highlighted L.A.’s diverse experiences including the Warner Bros. VIP Studio Tour, GRAMMY Museum, tour of Hollywood Roosevelt, Madame Tussauds and dinner at The Farm of Beverly Hills at L.A. LIVE, among others. Transportation was provided by Karmel Shuttle and accommodations were provided by the Sheraton Universal.
Training Sessions at Air Tahiti Nui
L.A. Tourism, in partnership with Visit California and Air Tahiti Nui, conducted training sessions at Air Tahiti Nui headquarters April 14. L.A. Tourism educated 22 travel agents specializing in U.S. travel on L.A.’s newest product offerings.
LATCB Australia at Visit USA Australia – Tasmania
LATCB’s Australian office exhibited at the Visit USA Australia regional travel agent expo in Hobart, Tasmania April 21. The event attracted 65 top selling retail travel agents for which LATCB conducted a training seminar on L.A.’s new hotel developments and LAX’s modernization program. Partners Loews Hollywood Hotel, Citadel Outlets, Hollywood Explorer Pass, Karmel Shuttle & Starline Tours also provided product updates, brochures and prizes for the travel agents. If any LATCB members are interested in partnering with LATCB’s Australian office on future trade show opportunities please contact cgibbons@LATourism.org
L.A. Tourism in Germany and Switzerland
L.A. Tourism’s Germany representative Anette Kaiser-Rott conducted several tour operator and airline training meetings across Germany and Switzerland in April. The training sessions highlighted the new developments at LAX and the Tom Bradley International Terminal, new air services from Europe as well as L.A.’s new regional hotels, attractions and trends. Engagement among the three airlines and eight tour operators was especially high with regards to Car Free L.A., L.A.’s up-and-coming neighborhoods and a how-to guide for DiscoverLosAngeles.com for product updates and trip-planning.
Simpleview Summit
Representatives from L.A. Tourism attended the 10th annual Simpleview Summit April 20-23 for training classes to better service our members. These classes covered cutting-edge trends, super-user best practices and fast-track refreshers for new and experiences users. More than 500 DMO attendees exchanges ideas and best practices during various networking events. L.A. Tourism met with Simpleview’s development and support team and attended an exclusive full-day executive leadership meeting that focused on all areas of the Simpleview system including future expectations and other DMO requests. The Simpleview Summit has become one of the largest DMO-targeted conferences in the tourism industry.
L.A. Tourism at 2015 ASAE Springtime Expo
L.A. Tourism and partner members participated in the 2015 ASAE Springtime Expo, the premier meeting industry event, April 8-9 in Washington D.C. More than 2,900 meeting and industry professionals representing 348 companies attended the Expo. L.A. Tourism and partner members J.W. Marriot Los Angeles L.A. Live, Westin Bonaventure, The Garland, Universal Studios Hollywood and AEG/L.A. Live connected with buyers to sell Los Angeles as the destination for all meeting and events needs.
COMMUNICATIONS
L.A. Tourism Public Relations conducted a Los Angeles production house tour, meeting with several L.A. based producers to discuss ways to partner on featuring the destination. Meetings were with teams that contribute to networks such as The Travel Channel, Bravo, The Weather Channel, MTV, E!, Lifetime, NBC, FOX and ABC.
L.A. Tourism Corporate Communications secured several media placements as a result of the announcement for 2014 visitation and economic impact distributed during National Travel & Tourism Week. Media highlights included LATimes.com, Los Angeles Business Journal, LA Weekly and Skift.com, among others.
L.A. Tourism Public Relations hosted UK freelance journalist Cass Chapman on assignment with The Independent, Smallish Magazine, Glam.com and Vogue India to cover family friendly L.A. March 26 – April 1. While visiting, she stayed at The Langham Huntington, and explored many of the family-friendly cultural museums Los Angeles has to offer.
L.A. Tourism Public Relations hosted Rob Crossan with BA Highlife, British Airways inflight magazine. Rob’s trip focused on the history of Hollywood, and more specifically, places that Elvis visited in Los Angeles. Rob stayed at Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel and experienced many features of iconic Hollywood including lunch at Canter’s Deli and a Paramount Studio Tour.