Visitors to the California stand will be able to sample local food and world-famous wines from 4pm to 6pm on November 15 and 16.
California Tourism and its partners are staging an Afternoon Among Stars film premiere and lunch on Sunday November 14 at the BAFTA Centre in
London’s Piccadilly. The Universal Studios production starts at 12.30pm followed by a California cuisine lunch prepared by executive chef Ken Schloss representing Sonoma Wine Country. By invitation only.
LOS Angeles county will be taking centre-stage at the California World Travel Market area next week to increase both trade and consumer awareness of the many forthcoming developments in the region.
A new marketing campaign gets under way in 2000 called ‘The New LA’ which focuses on both new attractions and the surrounding resort areas.
According to the Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau, Britons tend to picture LA as a sprawling city, whereas the county also includes other places well worth a visit such as Long Beach, Hollywood and Santa Monica.
LACVBUK director Francine Sheridan said: “LA is very much a flydrive product and we need to encourage visitors to spend more time in the county before going to such places as Las Vegas, San Francisco or Palm Springs, which are part of the traditional touring triangle in the west.
“LA will never sell as a two-week holiday but it does need at least a week to do it justice.
“However, as it’s a big area it’s hard to promote everything within it in one hit.”
She added that the initial campaign approach will be that LA has something to offer everyone – beaches, theme parks, film industry, entertainment, shopping and dining.
Part of the exercise will also be to try and encourage stopover visitors to stay longer, and the bureau is talking to several airlines with a view to a joint marketing approach.
Agents are expected to play a core role in the LA CVB’s UK activities, with around 200 retail staff scheduled to complete the recently launched LA Travel Academy training programme by summer 2000.
Participants complete a four-day training session at the University of California, Los Angeles, which includes visits to various areas and attractions within the county.
At the end of the course they receive certification from the UCLA.
Sheridan said: “We aim to provide agents with strong LA holiday planning skills, the ability to increase sales and the knowledge to answer client questions quickly and authoritatively.”
The total number of exhibitors on the California stand at Earl’s Court will be 28 and will include newcomers California’s Desert Destinations, Mammoth Lakes Visitors Bureau, Sacramento CVB, Legoland, Lake Tahoe Accommodations and San Diego’s Paradise Point Resort.
n Los Angeles will be staging a spectacular Millennium Show on December 31 at the LA Memorial Coliseum, featuring a widerange of entertainment, fireworks and lasershows. Visitors will see multi-media musical performances including Time Explosion which features the Roaring ’20s, Hollywood in the ’30s, the Swinging ’40s and the Fun ’50s.