TIA lines up for new range of promotions

‘See America’ campaign

TIA lines up for new range of promotions

Report by ALAN MOORE

THE first in a series of seasonal UScampaigns is to be launched in the UK next week. The promotion has been expanded beyond the original winter sports theme.

Produced by the Travel Industry Association of America, it now also covers city breaks, shopping trips and winter sun holidays in destinations such as Florida, California and Arizona.

The promotion will be backed by consumer and trade advertising, including a 16-page supplement called See America in Winter, due to be published in the Sunday Times on the eve of World Travel Market, on November 12. Lasting six months, the winter product campaign will be followed by a spring promotion based on history and culture.

In autumn next year, the focus will turn to city breaks and golfing holidays; spring 2002 will cover theme parks and attractions under the label of Sun and Water; and the autumn 2002 initiative explores America’s Scenic Outdoors.

Each will follow a similar pattern to the winter launch, with supplements and national print advertising. TIA UK travel trade manager Brenda Hughes said: “The ‘See America’ consumer-led campaigns will run for the next two or three years at least.

“We found that the winter sports campaign was a little narrow in focus for the size of the UK market and we wanted to include more tour operator product.”

Hughes said one of her key roles is to get UK operators to support the effort through joint advertising and the inclusion of links on TIA’s new Web site, SeeAmerica.org.

Hughes added:”Next year we also want to launch educational seminars for agents in each campaign period and tour operators, together with US suppliers and destinations, can participate in these for a fee.”

NEWS FLASH

&#42 The Travel Industry Association has created an international travel research office in Washington that provides US market analysis, product trends and an Internet-based International Visitor Information System.

&#42 The See America organisation is launching a directory early next year that lists contacts for 56 US state and territorial travel offices, more than 300 city visitor and convention bureaux and hundreds of hotel groups and travel attractions.

Standing out:the latest campaign will now include city and shopping breaks

Standing out:the latest campaign will now include city and shopping breaks