Selling Travel July/August 19

68
the review: trade show report
CALIFORNIA
Golden state of mind
Representatives from all 50 U.S. states met up in Anaheim, California, for
the IPW trade show. Jessica Pook and Sally Parker round up the news JUNE 1-5 2019
Easy travel a
priority for U.S.
Travel Association
The U.S. Travel Association
spoke of plans to reduce
security wait lines and make
the visa system more efficient
by expanding the Visa Waiver
Programme for visitors.
The association, which
stressed how important
international travel is to the
U.S., especially at a time when
America is experiencing a
decline in the global travel
market, has adopted a new
mantra: ‘Travel is trade. Travel
is security. And travel is
commerce’.
U.S. Travel President and
CEO Roger Dow said: “We are
supporting Congress in its
efforts to pass bills such as
the JOLT Act, which would
enable countries like Poland,
Israel, Brazil and others to join
the Visa Waiver Programme.”
Destination D.C. President
and CEO Elliott L. Ferguson II,
said: “We want to encourage
international visitors and
have been working with
officials in Washington to cut
down on wait times and to
make the visa application
system more efficient.”
ustravel.org
New VR tools for Orlando
Virtual tours, including 12 ride
experiences, are now available on
the Visit Orlando website.
personalised recommendations,
discounted tickets.
George Aguel, President and
The visually enhanced site CEO of Visit Orlando said: “Orlando
features 88 virtual reality tours hosted 75 million visitors in 2018,
with 360-degree access.
making it the most visited
Agents can get a ‘taster’ of 12 destination in America. It’s
popular theme park attractions
and ground tours of Downtown
Orlando, as well as the city’s
Convention Centre.
The Visit Orlando Travel Academy
is also to undergo a refresh, with
updated webinars, more video
content and interactive workshops.
Agents can download Visit
Orlando’s new free app to receive
important that agents are fully
aware of all the new experiences
on offer.”
Orlando will host IPW in 2022,
when delegates will experience
new attractions such as Epcot’s
nighttime spectacular and the Star
Wars: Galaxy’s Edge area, which
opens in August.
visitorlando.com
Puerto Rico asks ‘Have we met yet?’
SHOW SHORTS
Jurassic World: The Ride
has opened at Universal
Studios Hollywood.
Riders get to experience
the Indominus Rex and
aquatic Mosasaurus up
close as they peak from
behind a aquarium
observatory tank.
universalorlando.com
The Academy Museum
of Motion Pictures,
designed to celebrate the
making of film, is due to
open at the end of the
year in Los Angeles. It will
feature behind the scenes
footage, props, costumes
and more.
academymuseum.org
Fly Linq in Las Vegas,
the Strip’s only zipline
experience, has just
opened. Adrenalin
enthusiasts can fly 12
storeys above the ground
and land at the world’s
tallest observation wheel,
the High Roller.
caesars.com/linq
Discover Puerto Rico has
launched a new brand
campaign called “Have we met
yet?”
It aims to re-introduce Puerto
Rico to the world following the
devastation caused by
Hurricane Maria in 2017. By
positioning itself as the U.S.
mainland’s “friendly neighbour
to the south” the organisation
hopes to market the island as
‘familiar yet unique’ and
encourage inbound travel.
“Puerto Rico has recovered
and passenger arrivals are now
on par with pre-hurricane
levels,” said Brad Dean, CEO of
Discover Puerto Rico.
discoverpuertorico.com
sellingtravel.co.uk