October 2007 UPDATE NewsletterClick on the links below to go directly to each section of this newsletter.
MTCVB Partners | Sales, Marketing & PR | Mexico Marketing | Tucson Film Office
Opportunities | Bureau Drawer
MTCVB PARTNERS
Latest Tucson Attractions Passport Available Now
The 2007-08 Tucson Attractions Passport is now available online and at the Tucson Visitor Center. Click here to see a list of participating museums, attractions, shops, and performing arts organizations offering discounts and two-for-one admissions. Included are Tucson Symphony Orchestra, Arizona Opera, and Arizona Theatre Company. This passport is produced by the MTCVB in partnership with the Southern Arizona Attractions Alliance and Pima County. Discounts and offers expire September 15, 2008.
Tucson Ambassadors Program
The Tucson Ambassadors Program (TAP) 2007-08 class schedule is available online. To learn more about the TAP and to download an application, click here. To enroll online, go to www.ctanetwork.com and click on Application Form. To secure a reservation by mail, print out and complete the online application and mail it with the $25 application fee to MTCVB Partner Services, 100 S. Church Ave., Tucson, AZ 85701. The TAP class includes pre-reading and exercise materials that are sent to participants three weeks prior to each class and which must be completed and brought to class.
New Partners & Anniversaries
See which partners are celebrating anniversaries with the MTCVB, and get to know those who have just joined. Current listings are available at our New Partners & Anniversaries page at www.visittucson.org/member/newpartners.
ADOT I-10 Traffic Alert
For the latest news on the Prince Road to 29th Street I-10 widening project in Tucson, visit the project website at www.i10tucson.com, or call the I-10 project hotline, (520) 327-6444.
SALES, MARKETING & PR
Travel Writers' Tours
The Public Relations division is hosting 19 travel writers on six media trips during October. Staff will host three journalists attending the Tucson Culinary Festival, October 4-7; nine journalists (from United Kingdom, Mexico, Germany, Canada, and Japan) will explore area attractions and historical locations featured in National Geographic's Arizona-Sonora Desert Region Geotourism MapGuide during the Arizona Office of Tourism's Geotourism media trip, October 15-19. Staff also has created custom itineraries for seven domestic and international travel writers visiting Tucson on independent media trips throughout the month.
NWA WorldVacations Tradeshow
The Tourism division will help educate travel agents on Tucson vacations during a tradeshow presented by NWA WorldVacations (a Northwest Airlines travel company), October 8-10 in St. Paul, MN. Travel agents at the tradeshow will learn about the variety of destinations that NWA WorldVacations sells, including Tucson and Southern Arizona. MTCVB Tourism staff will share a booth with Arizona Office of Tourism and Loews Ventana Canyon Resort, while other Arizona cities will participate from their own booths. Staff also will partner with other travel suppliers on sales calls to travel agents in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area.
US Olympic Committee Expo, TEAMS Expo
The Sports Development division for the first time will market Tucson at the United States Olympic Committee Expo in Houston, October 19-21. Staff will host a booth showcasing Tucson as premier destination for amateur sports competitions. Later in the month, staff and two partners will market Tucson at the Travel, Events & Management in Sports (TEAMS) 2007 conference in Louisville, KY. To generate interest, the MTCVB booth will feature a scenic Tucson banner and a Cyber Café. The TEAMS conference is the leading conference and expo for the sports event industry, providing staff with opportunities to meet face-to-face with industry decision-makers during scheduled appointments.
Wildlife Society Conference
The Convention Services division assisted with planning and organizing the 14th Annual Conference of the Wildlife Society, September 22-26 at Tucson Convention Center (TCC). More than 1,800 conference attendees filled two hotels and patronized restaurants, entertainment venues, shops, and transportation companies in the areas of downtown, Fourth Avenue, and University of Arizona. Convention Services arranged for registrars, an information booth, shuttle service between key conference destinations, and discount coupons at downtown restaurants, while the Creative Services division created a customized area map and signage.
MEXICO MARKETING
Arizona Showcase 2007
The MTCVB Mexico Marketing division will represent Tucson tourism at the 10th Annual Arizona Showcase, October 3-4 in Hermosillo, Mexico. The showcase is sponsored annually by the Arizona Office of Tourism and is for consumers in Sonora. The program includes a tradeshow-promoting shopping, dining, recreational activities, hotels, and medical services throughout Arizona-and a fashion show for high-income consumers with a strong propensity for travel in Arizona. The MTCVB will host an information booth, with assistance from 15 partners representing hotels, shopping malls, and medical facilities.
Border Governors Conference
Felipe Garcia, MTCVB Vice President of Community Affairs and Mexico Marketing, represented Tucson tourism at the 25th Border Governor's Conference in Rocky Point, Sonora, Mexico, September 26-28, accompanied by MTCVB hotel partner, Premier Hotel Group. The conference is a forum of cooperation and deliberation between the governors of the ten states of the United States and Mexico's border region, including Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano. Attendees approach issues common to communities on both sides of the border, including tourism. TUCSON FILM OFFICE
History and Travel Channels Visit
The Tucson Film Office recently facilitated visits here by crews from national cable-television shows: The History Channel was at Kitt Peak National Observatory and surrounding area shooting extensive footage for the documentary, The Universe. A Travel Channel crew filmed segments at Rooster Cogburn's Ostrich Farm (Marana) and Jonathan's Tucson Cork (which serves ostrich steak) for the comedy/food show, "The Feasty Boys Eat America." During a second recent visit, the Travel Channel gathered material for the new series, "Lawrence of America" featuring an Englishman exploring different subcultures in the USA.
Japanese Pepsi Films Downtown
A crew from the Japanese corporate branch of Pepsi-Cola recently was in Tucson shooting images for an advertisement that will appear in a Japanese magazine. The Tucson Film Office assisted the crew, which enjoyed working in and around downtown historic districts. This project is an example of a trend among overseas companies creating brand campaigns: many are choosing one-of-a-kind locations that differ dramatically from their own regions of the world. PepsiCo, Inc. is one of the world's largest food and beverage companies.
OPPORTUNITIES
Watchable Wildlife Conference
October 3-5, Doubletree Hotel Tucson at Reid Park. Annual meeting of wildlife and tourism professionals featuring in-depth sessions on wildlife tourism development and management programs, wildlife viewing site development, and natural resource conservation management; and presentations by leading industry professionals, business owners, and authors in the field of wildlife/nature tourism. For more information on the conference and to register, please click here. Meet & See: Terra Cotta
Thursday, Oct. 10, 5-7 p.m., Terra Cotta restaurant. Details at www.visittucson.org under MTCVB Partners, Events, Partner Event Calendar & Registration.
Tucson Networking Event
Thursday, Nov. 1, 5-7 p.m. Embassy Suites Tucson at Paloma Village. Tucson-area meeting planners, secretaries, and hotel/resort suppliers are invited to mingle with meeting planners from Arizona Society of Association Executives, Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International, Az Sunbelt Chapter of Meeting Professionals International, Society of Government Meeting Professionals. For details, contact Pamela Traficanti, MTCVB Convention Sales Manager, at (520) 770-2150 or ptraficanti@visitTucson.org. Register at Tucson Networking Event at www.azmpi.org. First Tuesday: Tourism Research & Revelations
Tuesday, Nov. 6, 11:45 a.m.-1 p.m., Arizona Inn. Susan Cantrell, Vice President/Advertising,
Tucson Newspapers. Sponsored by Pour Moi Boutique. For details, or to RSVP, click here. Partner Orientation & Refresher
Thursday, Nov. 8, 8:30-10 a.m. Board Room, MTCVB Administrative Office, 100 S. Church Ave. Free. A tourism orientation for MTCVB partners. Sponsored by: MTCVB Partner Development. For details, or to RSVP, click here.
Meet & See: Tucson Symphony Orchestra-At the Movies!
Thursday, Nov. 15, 6 p.m. reception, 7 p.m. pre-concert chat (featuring Music Director, George Hanson), 8 p.m. concert, Tucson Music Hall. Program includes music from box-office blockbusters. Tucson Symphony Orchestra. For details, click here.
First Tuesday: News from Governor's Tucson Office
Tuesday, Dec. 4, 11:45 a.m.-1 p.m., Arizona Inn. Kristin Almquist, Director, Governor Janet
Napolitano's Southern Arizona Office. Sponsored by: Southern Arizona Lodging & Resort Association (SALARA). For details, or to RSVP, click here.
Holiday Happening at Rancho Valle Milagro
Thursday, Dec. 13, 5-8 p.m., Rancho Valle Milagro. Details forthcoming at www.visittucson.org under MTCVB Partners, Events, Partner Event Calendar & Registration. AOT Events Calendar Request
The Arizona Office of Tourism is accepting events for inclusion in its statewide calendar of events at www.arizonaguide.com. For more information, contact Marjorie Magnusson at Mmagnusson@azot.gov, or by phone at 602-364-3695, or fax at 602-364-3702. 2008 Fiesta Bowl Parade
Arizona tourism partners are invited to showcase Tucson and Southern Arizona by participating in the 2008 Fiesta Bowl Parade: "A Celebration of Arizona." For more information, contact Sherry Henry at the Fiesta Bowl, 480-517-6284, or at shenry@fiestabowl.org.
BUREAU DRAWER
AOT Looking for Free Things to Do
Arizona Office of Tourism is seeking information about free activities around the state. Travel companies often request information about free attractions or activities that can be added to Arizona itineraries that are cultural, historical, and/or nature-based (museums, observatories, zoos, events, tours, etc.). Please send information via e-mail with "Free Stuff" in the subject line. Include attraction title, location, contact information, brief description of the activity, and other pertinent information, such as whether the activity is seasonal, group friendly, or family friendly, for example. Send "Free Stuff" to jsutcliffe@azot.gov by October 5, 2007.
'101 Things to Do' at Visitor Center
The Tucson Visitor Center has a new resource. Published as a supplement to Tucson Guide, the free pamphlet, 101 Things to Do: An Eclectic Guide to Activities and Attractions in the Tucson Area is chock full of photos and information about activities for visitors and residents. The Tucson Visitor Center, in La Placita Village, is open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and weekends, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
MTCVB VISITOR INQUIRIES
August 2007
Walk-in visitors: 2,280
Information requests: 11,335
Website unique visitors: 213,768 Fiscal year to date (July-August)
Walk-in visitors: 4,848
Information requests: 25,883
Website unique visitors: 465,514 |
