Westfield to launch new U.S. tourism marketing program

Among the many benefits to travelers at select locations will be a Passport to Savings program with special offers and services, and Customer Service Ambassadors who assist with foreign language translation, dinner reservations and more.

LOS ANGELES – Global shopping center owner and developer Westfield Group is introducing a comprehensive tourism marketing initiative for select Westfield shopping centers in key U.S. travel destinations to enhance awareness, visitation and sales among international and domestic visitors.

Seven unique U.S. retail destinations, including Westfield’s International Airport shopping experience at Los Angeles International Airport, are part of the new Westfield Travel Collection. In addition to Los Angeles, the program initially involves leading shopping centers in San Francisco, San Diego and Tampa.

“Westfield’s new initiative welcomes tourists to our iconic locations in major U.S. travel destinations through signature marketing and exceptional customer service programs,” said Gary Williams, Sr. Executive Vice President, Westfield Property Group.

Among the many benefits to travelers at select locations will be a Passport to Savings program with special offers and services, and Customer Service Ambassadors who assist with foreign language translation, dinner reservations and more. Westfield is creating awareness of select retail destinations through pre-arrival and in-market advertising, cross-promotion in markets with multiple centers, and promotional partnerships with tour operators and destination marketing organizations.

Additional details of the multi-pronged marketing campaign will be unveiled at U.S. Travel’s IPW trade show in April, the largest and most significant travel show in the U.S. More than 2,500 travel buyers from 70 countries are expected to attend the show at McCormick Place in Chicago. The Westfield Travel Collection is also an investing partner of Brand USA. The partnership supports Brand USA’s marketing efforts to promote the U.S. as a world-class shopping destination.

The new program builds on the success of Westfield San Francisco Centre’s dynamic four-year positioning in the global tourism arena. This San Francisco icon is part of the new Westfield Travel Collection. The center is the country’s third largest urban shopping center, home to Bloomingdale‘s west coast flagship store, the second largest Nordstrom in the U.S., the city’s largest day spa, plus theatres, eateries and a signature restaurant collection. The center’s beau-arts facade, which survived the 1906 earthquake, as well as its dramatic 102-foot wide glass and steel Dome and Rotunda are signature architectural features that make the center itself an historic attraction.

Other centers in the Westfield Travel Collection:

• Westfield Century City, Los Angeles redefines urban sophistication, while adding glamour back into the shopping experience. A one-stop, day to night destination for the best in shopping and dining, the center features over 130 shops, 10 restaurants and an eclectic outdoor dining terrace with 14 express eateries. Just steps away from Beverly Hills, the center was once part of the backlot of FOX studios and played an integral role in the master plan development of Los Angeles.


• Westfield at Los Angeles International Airport delivers an unparalleled collection of luxury retail and sophisticated dining that raises the bar on the entire airport experience in North America. Cutting edge architecture showcases some of the world’s best known designer brands with a distinctly Los Angeles flavor.


• Westfield Valley Fair, Santa Clara, California is at the heart of Silicon Valley’s white-hot technology hub. Sharing this enviable locale with Apple, Google and Facebook, this forward-thinking, 227-store center is a business and leisure traveler’s dream destination. The recent expansion of fashion boutiques and sophisticated dining options solidifies this center’s position as one of the most popular shopping destinations in Northern California.


• Westfield Horton Plaza, San Diego, is an exciting and vibrant urban shopping destination with major department stores, 120 specialty stores, theatres, live comedy and off-broadway productions offering visitors a distinctly California experience. Ideally located within walking distance from San Diego’s famed Gaslamp Quarter, Convention Center and Cruise Terminal, this center is a great addition to any traveler’s San Diego itinerary.


• Westfield UTC, La Jolla, San Diego, offers the best in world class retail and black label services to create a resort inspired shopping and dining experience. The center includes more than 100 upscale shops, popular cafes and restaurants, a luxury theatre experience, and amenities that include an educational area for children, pet grass patches and the Greens with complimentary putters and golf balls. UTC is a truly unique outdoor experience minutes from San Diego’s premier beaches and just 15 minutes from downtown.


• Westfield Countryside, Clearwater/Tampa, one of Florida’s premier coastal destinations, blends the best of visitor favorites – shopping, dining and relaxing on the best beaches along the Gulf. The center features five destination restaurants, a new 12-screen movie theatre, indoor ice skating rink and a selection of retail brands that appeals to group and leisure travelers alike. Just minutes from Tampa International Airport, Countryside is less than 90 minutes from Walt Disney World, Epcot, Universal Studios and Seaworld.


• The Westfield Travel Collection tourism program is being coordinated by Anderson Retail Tourism Marketing, who assisted with the creation and promotion of Westfield San Francisco Centre’s program over the past four years.

Westfield to launch new U.S. tourism marketing program

Tourism figures in 2013: Cologne maintains its good position - Record number of foreign visitors

Once again, more than 5 million overnight stays in Cologne; number of guests rises for the fourth time in a row. Although the number of arrivals has increased, the shorter amount of time that people remain in the city has caused the number of overnight stays to remain unchanged.

COLOGNE – Tourism remained at a very high level in Cologne in 2013. Altogether, 2.96 million hotel guests came to Cologne last year for a total of 5.08 million overnight stays. Compared to the previous year, this represents an increase of 1.7 per cent in terms of guest arrivals, but a very slight decrease of 0.1 per cent in terms of overnight stays. Particularly noteworthy is the great increase in the number of foreign guests, who accounted for 6.7 per cent more arrivals and 2.9 per cent more overnight stays.

Even though the number of overnight stays is currently stagnating at a high level, it is becoming clear that Cologne has recovered very well from the recent recession. The number of international arrivals has risen by 42 per cent since 2009, and the number of overnight stays by foreign guests has increased by 33.2 per cent. “Cologne has become much more attractive internationally, as demonstrated by the development of its tourism sector over the past four years,” says Elisabeth Thelen, Chairwoman of the Supervisory Board of Cologne Tourist Board. “Cologne has also maintained its ranking of 24th among Europe’s 100 most popular city travel destinations and is a very attractive leisure and business destination.”

“Our strategic focus on the international markets is paying off. We recorded over 480,000 overnight stays last October, making it the best month in the history of Cologne tourism. This was primarily due to the strong ANUGA trade fair,” says Josef Sommer, Managing Director of Cologne Tourist Board. “The high bed occupancy rate despite increased room prices show that people consider Cologne a high-quality destination.”

Tourism figures in 2013: Cologne maintains its good position - Record number of foreign visitors

Hawaii tourist expenditures drop

HONOLULU, Hawaii – “Fluctuating currency exchange rates, growing competition and the increasing cost of a Hawaiian vacation were all factors contributing to the losses in visitor spending. We anticipate seeing this trend continue into the first and second quarters of 2014,” said Mike McCartney, President and CEO of the Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA).

Total expenditures by visitors who came to Hawaii in January 2014 dropped 4.7 percent (or $68 million) from January 2013, to $1.37 billion, according to preliminary statistics released today by the Hawaii Tourism Authority. This was the fifth consecutive month of a decline in visitor expenditures compared to the previous year. Total arrivals for January 2014 was 682,634 visitors, virtually unchanged from a year ago. However, the average daily visitor spending was lower compared to January 2013 (-5.2% to $191 per person).

Among visitors who came by air this January, growth in international visitors compensated for losses in U.S. arrivals. U.S. West visitor expenditures fell 6.1 percent to $393.8 million in January 2014, as a result of fewer arrivals (-4.6% to 231,871 visitors) and lower daily visitor spending (-2.5% to $154 per person). U.S. West visitor expenditures and arrivals have been declining since August 2013.

Decreases in U.S. East arrivals (-4.1% to 146,190 visitors) and daily spending (-0.9% to $204 per person) led to a 3.1 percent drop in U.S. East visitor expenditures to $381.8 million. This was the fourth straight month of year-over-year losses in U.S. East visitor expenditures and arrivals.

Arrivals from Japan rose 7 percent to 126,330 visitors in January 2014. However, much lower daily spending (-11.9% to $295 per person) resulted in a 7.3 percent decline in Japanese visitor expenditures to $212 million.

Despite growth in Canadian arrivals (+4.2% to 70,167 visitors), lower daily spending (-14.9% to $147 per person) caused an 8.7 percent drop in Canadian visitor expenditures to $153.6 million in January 2014.

Arrivals from All Other markets were up 9 percent to 90,396 visitors, with significantly more visitors from Other Asia (+29.3%) and Oceania (+20%). Combined expenditures from All Other visitors of $219 million was about the same as January 2013.

Arrivals by cruise ships decreased 3.1 percent to 17,680 visitors in January 2014.

Among the islands, visitor expenditures declined on Oahu (-12.4% to $587.4 million) and Maui (-6.3% to $366.8 million) but increased on Hawaii Island (+8.1% to $234.9 million) and Kauai (+17.2% to $160 million) compared to January 2013.

There were 946,549 total air seats to Hawai’i in January 2014, up 3.4 percent from last January. Scheduled seats from Other Asia (+21.5%) and Oceania (+20.1%) rose significantly and scheduled seats from Japan (+10.2%) and Canada (+9.1%) also increased. Growth in scheduled seats from U.S. West (-0.7%) and U.S. East (+0.6%) was flat compared to January 2013.

“This year will be challenging for our tourism economy with increased global competition and the volatility of the world economy. The HTA and our marketing partners continue to monitor global economic conditions and travel trends to adjust marketing strategies and implement programs that will keep the Hawaiians Islands top-of-mind as a visitor destination. We cannot rest on our past success and must continue to work hard to sustain the recent growth we have experienced and maintain a strong tourism economy,” McCartney concluded.

Hawaii tourist expenditures drop

Bangkok demonstrations - latest Thailand tourism emergency update

The Destination Asia Team (Thailand)had been updating eTN throughout the crisis in Bangkok. Here is today’s situation report from Bangkol.

The Bangkok situation as of Friday the 28th February 2014. Our day to day operations and transfer services continue to operate as normal, and our daily sightseeing tours are continuing as scheduled. The State of Emergency in Bangkok remains in place, although no freedom of movement restrictions or night time curfews have been imposed.

The current situation in Bangkok is one of calm and the heightened tensions from the start of the week seem to be dying down – at the moment we have come a what can be only described as a “stalemate” with not much being done to ease the current political temperature.

The blockade of the core downtown protest sites from MBK to Siam Paragon (Rama 1 Road) to Central World, (Rajaprasong intersection) to Central Chidlom remains. The section between Sukhumvit Soi 19 to Central Chidlom (Soi Langsuan) is open to traffic and the blockade at Asoke (Sukhumvit intersection) still remains in place. Please note that sporadic incidents and out breaks of violence may occur without warning, so we again emphasize that all visitors should stay clear of these blocked intersections and areas of demonstrations, especially in the evening. All visitors should pay attention to local news and media reports for additional information and details and should exercise caution if in the vicinity of any large gatherings, be alert and be aware of your surroundings.

Bangkok’s main shopping malls are affected by the demonstration sites (MBK, Siam Paragon, Central World, Central Chitlom, Terminal 21) at this time we strongly recommend that you stay clear of these shopping malls (due to their close proximity to the core demonstration sites) – There are alternative shopping areas available located away from the demonstrations sites such as Emporium, Asiatique, Central Rama 3, River City, Thonglor/ Ekamai, directions and more information can be obtained from your Destination Asia representative/guide or via a hotel concierge.

Bangkok continues to function at a near normal level with most businesses and offices continuing to operate, and people are able to move around the city freely. The public transport systems including the BTS Sky train, the MRT Subway and the Airport Rail Link continue to operate as scheduled, as do the rail services and bus links from Bangkok to the provinces. Pick up times from the city center hotels for transfers to the airport remain at 4 hours prior to flight departure, in case of any road blockages or diversions.

All areas outside Bangkok and other tourist destinations within Thailand such as Phuket, Samui, Hua Hin, Pattaya and Chiang Mai remain fully operational and are not affected by the demonstrations. We also wish to make clear that these out-of-Bangkok destinations fall outside the jurisdiction of this State of Emergency.

Bangkok demonstrations - latest Thailand tourism emergency update

TOURISM MALAYSIA TO INDIA INITIATIVES

As part of the Visit Malaysia Year 2014 (VMY 2014) celebrations, Tourism Malaysia will be unveiling a host of new marketing initiatives during their annual sales mission in India from 12 to 20 March, 2014 in the cities of Kochi, Bengaluru, Mumbai and Delhi. This year, the Malaysian delegation will be led by Dato’ Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz, Minister of Tourism and Culture and other top officials from the ministry of Tourism.

While the primary objective of the Minister’s visit is to strengthen Malaysia’s standing as a dream travel destination and increase tourist arrivals from India, Nazri is also looking forward to driving strong support from both the Indian travel trade fraternity and media for the ongoing VMY2014. Malaysia has launched its fourth VMY2014, with the aim of luring 28 million tourist arrivals and RM 76 billion (over US$ 23 billion) in tourism revenue.

Besides unveiling new marketing initiatives for the Indian market, the sales mission is also a platform for Malaysia’s tourism industry players to strengthen ties with their Indian counterparts. The mission will see top Malaysian Tourism Officials interact with key tour operators, associates from travel, service and hospitality sector in all cities to discuss and explore areas for collaboration to attract more Indian tourists to Malaysia.

Tourism Malaysia’s Indian Sales Mission will take place on 12 March in Kochi; 14 March in Bengaluru; 18 March in Mumbai and 20 March in Delhi.

TOURISM MALAYSIA TO INDIA INITIATIVES

Iran introduced at Belgrade Intl. Tourism Fair

Iran has attended the 36th edition of International Tourism Fair in Serbian capital Belgrade to introduce the true image of Persian culture and civilization.

A number of various Persian handicrafts and cultural heritage along with images of the county’s tourist attractions were showcased at the event.

The visitors of Iran’s pavilion also enjoyed several documentaries about Iran and its history.

“Iran’s participation in Belgrade fair will expand the bilateral cooperation of Iran and Serbia in tourism and cultural affairs,” said the fair director Nikola Andric.

Some 1000 representatives from 54 countries took part in the gala. This year’s event also hosted nine new countries including Argentina, Abu Dhabi, Malaysia, Iran, India, Portugal, Algeria, Albania, United Arab Emirate (UAE), and Romania to offer their tourism industries for the first time in Belgrade.

The Belgrade’s International Tourism Fair kicked off on February 27 and is scheduled to run until March 2.

A promotion of Iranian modern culture and art titled ‘Persian Delicacy’ has recently presented in Belgrade concurrently with holding Fajr festival in Iran.

A number of Iranian feature length films were screened during film weeks in Serbia’s two cities of Novi Sad and the capital city of Belgrade at the event.

Organized by Iran’s embassy in Belgrade, several cultural programs have been held in Serbia so far.

Acclaimed Iranian filmmakers Majid Majidi and Seyyed Reza Mirkarimi are among the list of 22 directors from the world who received the Special Mention and Golden Seal of Belgrade Filmography Museum.

Iran introduced at Belgrade Intl. Tourism Fair

Sri Lanka showcased at the biggest annual International Tourism Mart in Israel

The Embassy of Sri Lanka participated at the 20th International Mediterranean Tourism Mart(IMTM) held on 11th and 12th February 2014 at the Israel Trade Fairs and Exhibition Centre in Tel Aviv in order to showcase the vast tourism potential of Sri Lanka.

Mr. Sarath Wijesinghe, Ambassador opening the Sri Lanka Tourism Stall

The IMTM Fair is the largest professional tourism Fair of its kind in the Eastern Mediterranean and this year’s Fair had the participation of 48 countries.

Mr. Sarath Wijesinghe, Sri Lanka’s Ambassador in Israel together with senior officials of the Israeli Ministry of Tourism ceremonially opened the Sri Lanka Tourism Stall. During the course of the day, Hon. Dr. Uzi Landau, the Israeli Minister of Tourism and IMTM officials visited the Sri Lanka Stall during a tour of the Exhibition.

The Sri Lanka Stall, which drew large crowds, was attractively designed under the theme “The Wonder of Asia” in order to highlight the diversity of the country.

The International Mediterranean Tourism Mart (IMTM) is Israel’s largest professional tourism fair and is held every year. The Embassy’s participation this year was made possible due to the generous support of the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau.

Traditional sweetmeats and Ceylon tea were served to all visitors and Sri Lanka souvenirs were presented to the large number of visitors who thronged the Sri Lanka Stall.

Sri Lanka showcased at the biggest annual International Tourism Mart in Israel