Last month, Virgin Holidays took a group of 16 independent agents on an educational to the US. They flew to Los Angeles in California and then spent time in Long Beach and Palm Springs before travelling on to Phoenix in Arizona. The group sampled some of the hotels and checked out a number of resort attractions en route. When they arrived in Phoenix, they had the change to go horse-riding or desert touring by Jeep. We asked three of the agents for their impressions before and after the trip.
Before: I had been to Las Vegas and Florida but did not like travelling great distances by car. I imagined Arizona would be a vast desert and really a bit boring. Clients very rarely requested Arizona and I thought it was quite a distance from places like Palm Springs and Long Beach, which I had heard of. I understood Palm Springs to be a purpose-built beach resort and similar in concept to Long Beach.
After: Arizona is really different to anywhere else I have been in the US. We went horse-riding into the desert and it was just like being in a Wild West movie. Phoenix is a real experience – you feel like John Wayne, like you are living in a western. The bars are real cowboy bars, with live country music and line dancing, and it is all great fun. Both Palm Springs and Long Beach are much bigger than I expected – they are cities with all the facilities and the atmosphere – but they are compact and easy to get around. There are purpose-built holiday areas but also a lot of older, original buildings from the 1930s. They also have much more of a community feel than I had expected.
Carol Walton, Manager, Travelworld, Liverpool, Age: 28
Before: I had only been to the US once before, on a holiday to Florida with my parents. I imagined Arizona to be just desert and therefore very barren with nothing much to see or do. When I thought of California I thought of Baywatch – of pretty girls walking on the beach. In Florida you can’t really go anywhere without driving and I expected it would be the same this time. I thought we would be fairly well confined to the hotels, except when we went out on organised excursions.
After: Although Phoenix and Palm Springs are out in the middle of the desert, they weren’t as dry and barren as I expected. Everywhere you go there is plenty of greenery – cacti, trees and bushes – and I actually forget I was in a desert region until we went out on excursions. Unlike Florida, these cities are more compact – you can easily walk around – and there is no need for a car. The hotels are excellent and I would definitely recommend Palm Springs, particularly to anyone young or sporty. There are 25 golf courses, lots of great sports facilities, excellent shopping and plenty of fun nightlife.
Helen Packer, Reservations Supervisor, Bakers Dolphin, Weston-Super–Mare, Age: 23
Before: What impressed me most was the contrasts in the scenery. Palm Springs is set in the middle of a desert – there are mountains all around and because it is built on a hot spring, there is also a lot of natural greenery. I would definitely go back and would really recommend a flydrive to the area. From Palm Springs you are only 25mins drive from Disneyland, Universal Studios and Hollywood, as well as within easy reach of the desert and the Grand Canyon. There is also an amazing variety of activities available within a relatively small area – from designer shopping to ranching. The people are really friendly and very laid back. I really enjoyed it.
After: I had never been to the US before but knew it was going to be big and busy, with lots going on everywhere. I also thought of Americans as being very pushy and rather loud. My impression of Phoenix was of a barren state while Palm Springs was for the very rich, with lots of expensive shops. Whenever clients think of the US, they think of Orlando, so I didn’t get much opportunity to sell other areas and didn’t exactly know what was there to sell.
Karolyn Mahony, Sales Consultant, TV Travel Shop, Bromley, Age: 31