California Travel News - News for California Travel Industry

California Travel News for the the California Travel Industry features information for California, the most visited state in America! While Californians themselves make up 85 percent of in-state domestic travel, tourism provides nearly one million jobs locally and benefits the state's economy with an estimated $78.2 billion in expenditures annually. California claims over 300 million domestic travelers annually and seven million international travelers. From television shows such as The OC to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who joined a cast of Hollywood celebrities appearing in 30-second tourism spot ads recently, the movie industry allure is California Travel and Tourism Commission's (CTTC) budget-minded cure for reduction of State funds to promote the golden nugget.

Traveling to California for conventions: It's tough to match the size of convention space in several of the nation's largest convention centers such as Washington D.C. Convention center with 2,300,000 square feet of meeting space and Orange County Convention Center in downtown Orlando with 2,100,000 sq.ft. The nearest large convention center to California is Las Vegas Convention Center, 1,040,000. In California, the largest convention center is in Anaheim, across the street from Disneyland. See the list of California's largest convention centers.

Fast facts from California Tourism: While 2009 travel trends predict percentage of travel, disposable income and most aspects of travel to see reductions in 2009, the last quarter of 2009 shows an upswing in travel, according to studies performed by Travel Industry Association and U.S. Department of Commerce. How accurate are those predictions? Only time will tell.

Profile of a Convention and Visitors Bureau. This report sheds light on CVBs, their funding mechanisms, size of operations and other details.

What & where's the deal? Check out hotels in luxury spots from Dana Point Ritz-Carlton to Carmel Valley Ranch. Winter rates in Palm Desert were down, last time we checked. It's a mixed bag, as some of the beach resorts in the mid-range have not dropped rates. While reports that hoteliers are hoping to hold on the pricing as inventories increase seems to be true, we see the armor beginning to crack with some properties in the high end that are dropping rates by $100 per night as their corporate bookings are cancelled or simply fade during these tough times in 2009. More to come!

1. Nearly two-thirds of out-of-state leisure travel comes from nine states: Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Illinois and New York.
2. 83 percent of California's foreign visitors comes from seven countries: UK; Canada; Mexico; Germany/Austria/Switzerland; South Korea; Japan; Australia/New Zealand
3. Overseas arrivals to U.S. airports: New York 17%; San Francisco 13%; Miami 10%; L.A. 6%

 

TRAVEL NEWS AND EVENTS	2009
Great Travel News: United Airlines offers Gogo Inflight Internet service on transcontinental flights between New York and California United Airlines will begin offering inflight Internet service to customers onboard its service between New York and California starting in the second half of 2009. Aircell Gogo® Inflight Internet service will enable customers to surf the Web, check e-mail, instant message, and access corporate VPNs on their Wi-Fi-enabled devices for a flat fee of $12.95.  united.com National Tourism Week May 2009. Established in 1983 with a congressional designation, the week is marked by localized special events and programs. Discover Great American Traditions is this year's theme. 2009 Calendar of Events May 7, 2009  "The State of LA 's Hotel Industry" with Michael Krouse, LA Inc Michael Krouse, Senior Vice of Sales for LA INC. The Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau, will shed light on customer buying behaviors and habits that have changed in the hotel community during these unique times and how these challenges are presenting opportunities for Los Angeles hotels. Time: Noon. Cost: $50, lunch included. Parking $6. RSVP: ttmasocal@aol.com or 800-511-4001 Tourism Tech Summit & Vendor Showcase March 26-27, 2009 Oakland Marriott City Center, Oakland, CA CEO Forum August 6-9, 2009 Sundance Resort, Sundance, UT Advanced Meetings/Conventions Sales Institute Training (SIT II) Program October 13 & 14, 2009 Antlers Hilton, Colorado Springs, CO Travel Industry Sales Training (TIST) Program October 13 & 14, 2009 Antlers Hilton, Colorado Springs, CO Annual Meeting & Vendor Showcase October 14-17, 2009 Antlers Hilton, Colorado Springs, CO
Travel Industry Events Contact: California Travel Industry Association Conference on Tourism www.caltia.com Travel & Tourism Marketing Association Meeting and Lecture ttmasocal@aol.com National Press Photographers Association (NPPA)  www.nppa.org/ NEWS RELEASES 2007 Carnival Cruise full wi-fi service Carnival Cruise Lines expanded its wireless Internet access to all public rooms and suites in its fleet . “Guests view our ships as ‘floating hotels,’ expecting the same modern technology and conveniences found on land. The Internet has become an indispensable tool for staying abreast of the latest news and keeping in touch with the office and loved ones,” said Bob Dickinson, Carnival CEO. Jet Blue routes from Long Beach to O'Hare in Chicago Daily nonstop service between Long Beach, CA (LGB) and Chicago, IL/O’Hare (ORD) are convenient. In California, Jet Blue flies between Long Beach, Oakland and Sacramento. Other new routes include Daily nonstop service between New York, NY (JFK) and Chicago, IL/O’Hare (ORD); Daily nonstop service between Newburgh, NY (SWF) and West Palm Beach, FL (PBI); Daily nonstop service between Boston, MA (BOS) and Cancun, Mexico (CUN) starts March 02, 2007. Santa Maria - Las Vegas direct flights offered by Allegiant Air...More Luxury Travelers Use the Internet to make hotel reservations...More California Travel Industry statistics show a 7.4 percent increase in travel to the Golden State, yielding $82.5 billion, the greatest increase since 2000. While much of the growth in travel spending was related to increased air travel, travel spending in California directly supported 892,600 jobs. Food service jobs were tops, (over 250,000). Approximately $39.5 billion was spent in accommodations in the state. Californians themselves continue to comprise 85 percent of visitor trips (50 miles or more) for a total of 254 million person-trips. California’s top domestic markets were Nevada, Arizona, Texas, Oregon and Washington. California’s share of the domestic travel market (in 2003) was 10.7%, making it the most visited state in America for yet, another year!

Wine-Lovers Clog Napa Valley   The eighth-most congested rural vacation spot in the U.S., Napa Valley boasts more than 2 million summer trips, mostly on Highway 29 between Napa and St. Helena. The growing interest in wine makes this one of San Francisco's favorite weekend getaways. Bed & breakfast inns and hotels recommend booking in advance, especially during the summer and always on weekends. Other rural vacation escapes with traffic jams include Cape Cod, Mass. and Branson, Mo.

ABOUT CALIFORNIA TRAVEL NEWS - California Travel News information services began a decade ago with California Beaches - BEACHCALIFORNIA.COM.

California Travel News not only publishes Internet content but also sells news products to major news corporations, trade publications and a variety of publishing interests. Reporters tour the state, taking photos, writing stories and producing news that's read by approximately 3.5 million unique visitors annually on the world wide web and seen on television programs, in newspapers and magazines. Recent contacts and clients include BBC, MSNBC, NBC, ABC and The Travel Channel.

  Contact California Travel News to send press releases, for inquiries, etc.