October 2008 e-Newsletter

Welcome to TourISm Tucson (pronounced "Tourism Is Tucson"), your monthly e-newsletter from the Metropolitan Tucson Convention and Visitors Bureau (MTCVB). Each month, we invite you to use this medium to stay informed of news and other information that will help ensure your success as a partner of Tucson's tourism community.

Seminar Shows 15 Ways to Be Mexico Ready
Visitors from Mexico spend nearly $1million per day in Pima County. These valued customers have distinct preferences for travel, spending, and doing business. Understanding these preferences helps Tucson companies provide better service. Of course, better service leads to more positive experiences for Mexican customers and, consequently, longer stays and more money spent while in Tucson and Southern Arizona.

To help local businesses understand visitors from Mexico, the MTCVB has created a new training workshop. The Be Mexico Ready workshop is a project of the MTCVB Vamos a Tucson program, in conjunction with the University of Arizona Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) program. The two-hour workshop is free and features 15 basic steps guaranteed to help Mexican visitors feel welcome.

Already the MTCVB and SIFE partners have successfully conducted the workshop for nearly 750 front-line employees working at many leading hospitality-industry companies. The participants included managers, sales personnel, bartenders, concierges, reception staff, and chefs. A post-workshop evaluation showed 100 percent of the participants said they would use the sales techniques learned at the workshop. MTCVB partners are invited to arrange a Be Mexico Ready workshop at their places of business. For details, contact Martha Tadlock (520-770-2171) or Marisol Romero (520-770-2167) in the Mexico Marketing department.

Work It! 
CTA Connections: Historic Downtown Walking Tour
Thursday, Oct. 2, 5:15 to 6:30 p.m. Members of the Southern Arizona Guides Association will conduct a living history tour of the "mansions of Main Street" in El Presidio Historic District. Meet at La Cocina/Old Town Artisans. Metered parking downtown is free after 5 p.m. $10 CTAs/$15 guests. $15/$20 without a reservation. No-shows will be billed. RSVP to 624-1817 ext. 178.

First Tuesday: Tucson/Canada Partnership 
Tuesday, Oct. 7, 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Arizona Inn, 2200 E. Elm St., Tucson, AZ 85719. Featuring Rick Stephenson, Consul and Senior Trade Commissioner, Canadian Consulate Trade Office. Sponsored by Encore Creative. For more information or to RSVP, click here.

Meet and See at McClintock's Saguaro Ranch
Wednesday, Oct. 15, 5 to 7 p.m. at Saguaro Ranch, 3800 W. Moore Rd. Tucson, AZ 85742. Savor the beauty of a desert sunset while enjoying appetizers and drinks (cash bar) on the rooftop grill of McClintock's -- in the heart of Saguaro Ranch. For more information or to RSVP, click here.

Interactive Marketing Workshop
Tuesday, Oct. 28, 9 a.m. to noon at White Stallion Ranch. Complimentary workshop, "Four Key Pieces to the Interactive Marketing Puzzle," is presented by the Arizona Office of Tourism's Arizona Tourism University. Register through Meghan Dorn at (602) 364-3708 or mdorn@azot.gov.

Tucson Ambassadors Program 2008 Class Schedule
Learn more about the Tucson Ambassadors Program. Go to www.CTANetwork.com to register for a class hosted by an MTCVB partner in November and December. The January-June 2009 class schedule is also available on the CTA Network.

First Tuesday: Update on Tucson's New Downtown Arena
Tuesday, Nov. 4, 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Arizona Inn, 2200 E. Elm St. 85719. Featuring Rich Singer, Director, Tucson Convention Center. Sponsored by Tucson Jazz Society. For more information or to RSVP, click here.

First Tuesday: It's All About Tucson--Marketing Our World-Class Destination 
Tuesday, Dec. 2, 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Arizona Inn, 2200 E. Elm St. 85719. Featuring Toby Parks, Director of Marketing, MTCVB. Sponsored by Madden Media. For details or to RSVP, click here.

Winter Holiday Super Savers Program Deadline
Monday, Dec. 8 is the final day for Accommodations partners to submit holiday room rates, seasonal packages, and/or special offerings for the Winter Holiday Super Savers program. Submit rates and other information, using a form available through e-mail, by fax (520-884-7804) to Hope Patterson, Executive Assistant to Rick Vaughan, no later than December 8. 

'Holiday Happening' at Maynard's Market
Thursday, Dec. 11, 5 to 7 p.m. at Maynard's Market in the Historic Train Depot in Downtown Tucson. Visit downtown Tucson's newest hip bar/market/bistro in the Historic Train Depot.  Enjoy samples of bistro specialties, the upstairs "Caboose" dessert room, chic cash bar, and the authentic ambiance of this historic location. More details to follow. To RSVP, click here.

Know It!
Western CVBs Convene in Tucson
Tucson will host the 2008 WACVB Annual Conference and Vendor Showcase October 8-11 at the Doubletree Hotel Tucson at Reid Park. The WACVB (Western Association of Convention and Visitors Bureaus) is a regional professional association serving more than 140 member bureaus in the Western United States and the Western provinces of Canada. MTCVB President/CEO Jonathan Walker is the outgoing President of the WACVB, and has served as President since the association's 2007 Annual Conference and Vendor Showcase in Anchorage, Alaska.

Winter Holiday Super Savers
Our Winter Holiday Super Savers program will be active November 20 through December 30. All MTCVB Accommodations partners (hotels, resorts, spas, ranches, and bed and breakfasts) are invited to participate and promote their seasonal values to Tucsonans expecting holiday guests. This year the program's booking engine will be Travelocity, which will indicate holiday rates are available through the Tucson Super Savers Web site (which goes live October 17). To participate, partners need only submit their holiday rates, using a one-page form available by e-mail. The deadline to submit rates is Monday, Dec. 8. For more information or assistance, contact Hope Patterson, Executive Assistant to Rick Vaughan, at (520) 770-2136 or hpatterson@visitTucson.org. 

Tucson Destination Page Live at Travelocity  
The second-largest online travel agency in the United States, Travelocity, successfully launched the new Tucson destination Web page, September 19. The Web page, titled ExperienceFinder: Tucson, features options for travelers to learn more about "Tucson's temptations" that "range from mountain trails and national parks to golf courses and chi-chi spas."  Highlights include interactive maps, brilliant visuals, sample tours, and information about partner hotels and other Tucson travel product.

Plan Now for Canadian Travel/Golf Shows
Looking for ways to reach domestic and Canadian travelers?  Consider attending the following consumer travel or golf shows with the MTCVB: Seattle Travel Show, January 24-25. Denver Golf Show, Feb. 6-8. Vancouver Golf Show, Feb. 14-15. Toronto Golf Show, Feb. 28-March 1. Sunset Celebration Weekend, Menlo Park (just south of San Francisco), CA, May or June 2009. A calendar of upcoming trade shows can be found under Tradeshow and Event Opportunities in the MTCVB Partners section at www.visitTucson.org. For more details on consumer shows, contact April Bourie, Tourism Sales Manager, at (520) 770-2159.

Gem Show Contact Information
Contact information regarding each of Tucson's gem shows is available at our Web site. Even when we're outside of peak show season, all information is retained on the Tucson Gem Show page under the Events destination driver. The next time someone asks you for contact information for a specific show, simply refer him or her to the MTCVB Web site. 

Use It!         
Web Site Search Function
A search function has been added to www.visitTucson.org. MTCVB partners can help ensure the success of this new feature by checking to see if their online partner listing shows up when someone types in their company "key words." Partners are encouraged to test this, choose the key words that best describe their company (i.e. partner name, Nogales tours, Italian restaurant, etc.), and fill out the form to send the key words to Erin Lair, MTCVB Webmaster.

Liven Up Your Listing
Now you can enhance your presence on the MTCVB website by linking your company's online partner listing to your promotional video. Adding a video link to your listing is a free partner benefit. You can see how one of our partners has personalized their business by visiting the La Encantada partner listing . If your company does not have a promotional video, you can research the process and costs involved by contacting one of the MTCVB partners that specialize in video production. If your company already has a video, you can get formatting guidelines from Laurie White, Partner Services Manager, by e-mailing lwhite@visitTucson.org.

New Horseback Riding Web Page
The MTCVB Visitor Information staff regularly received requests for information about horseback riding opportunities in and around Tucson. In response to this interest, we've added a new Horseback Riding page to the Outdoor Recreation and Nature section. Visitors can now find information about saddling up at a guest ranch, resort, or public stable in Tucson.

CTA Certification Renewal 
The first group of Certified Tourism Ambassadors (CTA) have been e-mailed information about their annual CTA certification renewal deadline, October 31, 2008. Details are at www.CTANetwork.com. The annual renewal is key to ensuring the Tucson Ambassadors Program remains relevant and valuable to the participants, the visitors, and the city. If you have questions about your renewal, contact Laurie White, Partner Services Manager, at lwhite@visitTucson.org.

New Tucson Attractions Passport
Savvy travelers will find discounts and 2-for-1 offers to Tucson and Southern Arizona attractions inside the pocket-sized Tucson Attractions Passport. The all-new 2008-09 edition was released last month and is valid through September 15, 2009. Details are at the Tucson Attractions Passport Web site. 

Links to MTCVB  Resources
Follow the links below for information from a variety of MTCVB resources: 
Downtown Tucson's History
Tucson Interactive Travel Guide
Free Visitor Information
Tucson Ambassadors Program
New Partners & Partner Anniversaries

MTCVB Visitor Inquiries / August 2008
Information requests:  12,492
Walk-in visitors: 2,047
Website unique visitors: 212,011
 
Year-to-Date (July-August 2008)
Information requests: 12,492
Walk-in visitors: 4,243
Website unique visitors: 426,538