 August 2007
» San Diego North CVB Releases Fiscal Year-End Figures for FY06-07» Upcoming Fall Mixer » Sales Update » Marketing Update » PR Update » Industry News & Member Spotlight » Put the San Diego North CVB to Work for You » Welcome Aboard! » Stories from the Watercooler » Fast Facts - Travel Industry Tidbits » Bureau Contacts San Diego North CVB Releases Fiscal Year-End Figures for FY06-07 The San Diego North CVB marked the end of its 2006-2007 fiscal year on June 30, 2007. Below are a few year-end highlights of the Bureau's achievements: Total economic impact to the San Diego North region was $45.3 million, based on the FY06-07 Inquiry Conversion Study with individual inquiries and group sales revenues. Sales
- Generated $16.1 million in total visitor spending among group business.
- Facilitated 24 site tours. - Conducted two educational tours. - Facilitated room blocks, activities, promotions and general information for multi-hotel bookings, including United Church of God, Escondido; Good Guys Rod and Custom Association, Del Mar; MS Society Bay to Bay Bike Tour, Carlsbad; In Motion Carlsbad Marathon; Elite Racing Carlsbad 5,000; and Surf Cup, Rancho Santa Fe. Marketing - Generated more than 229,000 visitor inquiries through walk-in, phone-in, write-in and Web site.
- Generated more than $211,000 in hotel reservations and attraction tickets through Bureau's Web site, a 53 percent increase over FY05-06. Upcoming Fall Mixer San Diego North CVB's Fall Mixer takes place in October SAVE THIS DATE: Wed, Oct 3, 2007 Don't miss the exciting Fall Mixer at Maderas Golf Club. Come enjoy one of the county's finest golf courses and a newly constructed Italian-Style Villa clubhouse. A special addition to this mixer will be beer tasting by Stone Brewing Company, and wine tasting by Ponte Winery. Great food and music are on the agenda along with door prizes. Where: Maderas Golf Club Address: 17750 Old Coach Rd, Poway When: Wed, Oct 3, 2007 Time: 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. Cost: $20 in advance - must be received in our office by 10/1/2007; $30 at the door To RSVP, download and complete the attached RSVP form. Tabletop exhibits and door prize donation opportunities are available to members. To participate, contact Debbie Mirageas, office manager, at dmirageas@sandiegonorth.com or call 760-745-4741. «back to top Sales Update Sales Report: June & July 2007
Bureau attends Affordable Meetings WestThe Bureau brought back 60 leads from the Affordable Meetings West Show, which took place June 19-20, 2007 in San Jose, CA. Stephanie Colby-Aburto and Yolanda Hartley represented the Bureau for the show, with co-op partners from the Hilton Garden Inn Carlsbad, Hilton San Diego/Del Mar, Homewood Suites & Hilton Garden Inn Del Mar, The Inn at Rancho Santa Fe, La Jolla Shores Hotel, Morgan Run Resort & Club, Pala Mesa Spa Resort and Pala Casino Spa & Resort. The show was deemed a huge success for the group, with a total of 161 planners stopping by the double booth. Traffic was steady throughout the show with 700 planners in attendance. 
Bureau Participates in MPI - WEC Trade ShowAnna Wachtel, national sales manager for the Bureau, attended the MPI-WEC Trade Show July 27 through Aug 1, 2007 in Montreal Canada. The Bureau along with co-op partners Hilton Garden Inn & Homewood Suites Del Mar and Del Mar Fairgrounds generated 11 leads for the region. Over 800 meeting planners were in attendance and approximately 80 planners stopped by the booth. Sign up for the e-Commerce Summit - Thurs, Oct 4, 2007 - Morgan Run Resort & Club One-On-One 15 Minute Appointments The San Diego North Convention & Visitors Bureau will arrange appointments for our hotel and attraction partners to meet with the top online travel companies (Advanced Reservation Systems, Expedia, Orbitz, Quikbook, Travelocity and Travelworm) to discuss new and existing partnerships including contracting, marketing promotions, packaging, increasing room nights, web site optimization and more. FREE Event This FREE one-day event is a one-stop-shop opportunity for our members to meet with the industry's top producing e-Commerce partners. We encourage all revenue managers and leisure sales to attend. Mark your calendars for Thurs, Oct 4, 2007! Reservation forms will be available soon! FY07-08 Co-op Trade Show Opportunities Co-op trade shows with the SD North CVB are a great opportunity for you to create additional exposure for your business in a cost-effective, productive, and highly visible manner! For more information, contact Donna Alfsen, sales coordinator, or any member of the San Diego North CVB sales team at 760-603-1690, or email sales@sandiegonorth.com. View the trade show profiles. Get the FY07-08 co-op trade shows sign up form. «back to top Marketing Update 
Last Chance to Advertise in the 2008 Visitors Guide The advertising deadline for the 2008 San Diego North Travel Planning & Conference Guide is fast approaching. The Guide continues to be the most valuable source of visitor information about the San Diego North region. A recent visitor survey found that 72% of visitors who requested our Guide brought it with them when they came to visit and 69% said it influenced their travel decisions. As in the past, all advertising positions will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis. The DEADLINE for your commitment is Sept 21, 2007. Please e-mail Jennifer Rohr at jrohr@sandiegomag.com. Ensure your free membership listing in the 2008 Guide To ensure your free listing in the 2008 Travel Planning and Conference Guide, please make sure your accounting department has processed your FY07-08 membership investment. These invoices were mailed out in April. For questions about your membership investment, contact Debbie Mirageas at dmirageas@sandiegonorth.com or call 760-745-4741. «back to top PR Update PR Highlights 
 Westways (circulation: 3,676,079) - a one-page Day-Tripping story featuring Oceanside appeared in the Los Angeles, Orange County and San Diego editions of the magazine during the months of May, June and July/August. Los Angeles Times (circulation: 1,172,005) - a two-page color story featuring the Wild Animal Park's Roar and Snore sleepover program appeared on the front page of the July 15 Travel section. PR Opportunities The Public Relations Department is currently gathering information for fall press trips. If you have a story idea that you would like us to consider, please contact htownsend@sandiegonorth.com or call 760-745-4741. We will be targeting both short and long lead media with pitches on upcoming exhibits, renovations/expansions, restaurants, attractions, events and themed San Diego North story ideas. Public Relations Tip: Add htownsend@sandiegonorth.com to your distribution list on all newsworthy topics to ensure the Bureau has the most up to date information to optimize media exposure opportunities. «back to top Industry News & Member Spotlight Industry News 
Orfila Vineyards was one of only three U.S. vintners honored with gold medals at the 31st annual Challenge International du Vin in France's Bordeaux region. Considered one of the oldest and most renowned international competitions, the May competition consisted of a blind tasting of 5,288 wines from 38 countries. Orfila's Estate Lotus 45, a blend of voignier, marsanne, and roussane grapes that were all grown in the winery's 40-acre San Pasqual Valley vineyard received a gold medal.
Addison restaurant at The Grand Del Mar was ranked as one of seven "Best New Wine Lists" for 2007 in the July issue of Food & Wine magazine. Under the direction of Sommelier Jesse Rodriguez, Addison's eclectic wine selections - from top California vintage cult wines to classics from Bordeaux, Champagne, Burgundy and the Rhone Valley - are housed in a custom wine room designed by Napa Valley-based Paul Wyatt Designs. 
The 2007 San Diego Fair, held at the Del Mar Fairgrounds, ended the 2007 season with a record-setting 1,265,997 visitors. This year's attendance broke the record, which was set in 2004, when 1,250,320 people attended.Opening Day at the Del Mar Racetrack also set an all-time attendance record on July 18. With a crowd of 42,842, it was the largest Opening Day in the racetrack's 68-year history. Vision Holidays now offers non-stop service between Las Vegas and Carlsbad from McClellan-Palomar Airport in Carlsbad. The flight schedule is displayed at www.FlyVH.com. For reservations, call 800-256-8767. The Inn at Rancho Santa Fe was placed on "Expedia's Insiders' Select" list for its excellent services, great overall experience and notable value. The exclusive list, representing the top one percent of all hotels and resorts around the world offered on Expedia.com, was created based on traveler opinions, expert input and value. Harrah's Rincon Casino & Resort received 37 awards, including 12 first place honors, in Casino Player magazine's "Best of Gaming" annual readers' poll. Included in the awards received were Best Player's Club, Best Spa, Best Entertainment, Best Service, Best Bar, and Best Chinese Restaurant. Member Spotlight 
The San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park has added several new kid-friendly features: Discovery Station, located next to the Park's Thorn Tree Terrace, includes a crawl-through log entrance, crafts, and a puppet theater; Jameson Research Island, in the Heart of Africa, has added a new animal presentation area and a second Cool Zone for kids to play in new and inventive water games; and "Experience Africa," a new theatrical production centering around the importance of water to wildlife and people. 
Bistro West restaurant recently opened in Carlsbad adjacent to West Inn & Suites. Under the direction of corporate executive chef, Eugenio Martignago, the 230-seat bistro will feature "build-your-own" pastas and pizzas, specialty hamburgers, as well as rotisserie chicken, steaks, and seafood.«back to top Put the San Diego North CVB to Work For You Promotion Opportunities for ARES Members Hot Deals - Members who are contracted through ARES can post Hot Deals promotions which may be promoted in the next issue of the Bureau's opt-in consumer newsletter, Getaway Highlights. In addition, the Hot Deals listing will link from the San Diego North CVB Web site, which generated traffic of more than 229,000 unique users during FY06-07. Dynamic Packaging - The Bureau's Web site can now feature any combination of attraction tickets with any contracted hotels and distribute it as a packaged product through ARES' dynamic packaging capabilities. This feature provides additional discounts and offers complete customization to the consumer. For information on ARES services, go to the ARES web site or call 1-800-828-0868. FY07-08 Co-op Trade Show Opportunities Co-op trade shows with the SD North CVB are a great opportunity for you to create additional exposure for your business in a cost-effective, productive, and highly visible manner! For more information, contact Donna Alfsen, sales coordinator, or any member of the San Diego North CVB sales team at 760-603-1690, or email sales@sandiegonorth.com. View the trade show profiles. Get the FY07-08 co-op trade shows sign up form. «back to top Welcome Aboard! We are proud to announce the following organizations which have joined as new members of the San Diego North CVB: Amtrak 2904 Jarvis St. San Diego, CA 92106 Phone: 619-758-9073 Fax: 619-758-9082 www.amtrak.com Passenger rail service. Bike & Kayak Tours 2222 Avenida De La Playa La Jolla, CA 92037 Phone: 858-454-1010 Fax: 858-731-4982 www.sandiegobikeandkayaktours.com La Jolla kayaking, biking, snorkeling tours and rentals in La Jolla Shores. Daily kayak trips to the La Jolla sea caves and bike tours of Coronado, La Jolla, and Downtown San Diego. Hilton Garden Inn - San Diego/Del Mar 3939 Ocean Bluff Ave. San Diego, CA 92130 Phone: 858-720-9500 Fax: 858-720-9525 www.hiltongardeninndelmar.com Full-service hotel with meeting space, restaurant, deli and spa, opening early 2008. «back to top Stories from the Watercooler Escondido's Mayor Celebrates Her Birthday in a Unique Way As Escondido's Mayor Lori Holt Pfeiler turns 50, she has decided to celebrate all summer long! "I decided you have to quit talking about doing things and get out there and just do it." So she and 9 friends went to Trapeze High in Escondido last Friday. Twenty-three feet in the air, Trapeze High's rig is an exciting ride. Lori says that she felt so powerful and that she can't wait to go back and do it again. «back to top Fast Facts - Travel Industry Tidbits 
Hotels and Attractions use Trip Advisor to their advantage Managers can monitor what is said about their property or attraction and respond to people's objections in a positive way by reviewing commentary on Trip Advisor. Trip Advisor is a free travel guide and research web site that offers opinions written by travellers to help others plan their vacations. It is primarily used by people before they book their accommodation when travelling in order to research the thousands of hotel reviews posted on its web site. TripAdvisor.com is currently the largest global travel information and advice destination on the web, covering 200,000+ hotels and attractions, with more than 5 million reviews and opinions and 20 million site visitors a month. Survey: Americans May Spend More On Vacations This Year After a recent survey, Funjet Vacations found that nearly 90% of Americans plan to spend the same or more as they did last year on air and hotel getaways. "Surprisingly, 16% of Americans that make the least amount of money-$25,000 or less-are planning the greatest increase in their travel budgets-more than 50% than last year," the survey of 1,500 U.S. respondents found. "Approximately 29% of those that make the most money-$75,000 or greater-want to spend the same amount on their vacations this year as they did in 2006." The group with the greatest increase in vacation spending plans was 25 to 34 year olds. Too, women plan to outspend men by 25% more than last year on air and hotel for vacations. Forty-four percent of men said they plan to spend the same as last year. For more information on this article click here. «back to top Bureau Contacts Cami Mattson, president and CEO Barbara Bovee, director of marketing and operations Stephanie Colby-Aburto, director of sales Debbie Mirageas, office manager Hilary Townsend, public relations manager «back to top If you feel you've received this message in error, or if you no longer wish to receive news and special offers please contact Krista Wampler at kwampler@sandiegonorth.com to be removed from this list. |