14 NEWS ADVERTORIAL Billie Moser Vice President of Tourism Sales at Travel Portland David Penilton President, America’s Hub World Tours Stephen Nelson Global Marketing Manager of Rocky Mountain International Travel Portland and Travel Oregon In a sparsely populated northwest state renowned for its pristine nature: the great outdoors was the key message at the shared Travel Portland and Travel Oregon booth at ITBBerlin 2015. “We are nature destination, a tax-free shopping destination, as well as a fresh destination, we are still a little bit undiscovered,” said Billie Moser, Vice President of Tourism Sales at Travel Portland. “Another very big focus for us has been some brand new direct flights, including a non-stop from Frankfurt to Portland with Condor, that’s creating a lot of excitement and opportunity. The second brand new flight is on Iceland Air via Reykjavik. We also have a non-stop flight from Amsterdam on KLM Delta, year-round.” Having been attending ITBBerlin for 20-plus years, Germany remains a mature core market for Travel Portland and Travel Oregon. But they are increasingly using ITBBerlin to do business elsewhere. “We also focus on the UK, which of course is a large market for the US. France and The Netherlands are also important. Because of Iceland Air, we also give a far greater focus to Scandinavian countries.” Rocky Mountain International – “The Real America” Working directly with the international marketing staff at the state tourism departments of Montana, South Dakota, Wyoming and North Dakota, Rocky Mountain International is headquartered in Cheyenne, Wyoming and has offices located in Paris, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, London, Sydney, and Milan. “We’re from the real America, the wild west of the USA, including Yellow Stone National Park, Glacier National Park, Mount Rushmore and all the great places in between,” said Stephen Nelson, Global Marketing Manager of Rocky Mountain International, who has had a busy ITBBerlin in 2015. “It’s a great, I love ITBBerlin, and am looking forward to being here again next year. It’s a really good show for IT’S A REALLY GOOD SHOW FOR US, THE WHOLE WORLD’S HERE AND IT’S AN AMAZING PLACE TO BE. us, the whole world’s here and it’s an amazing place to be.” Primarily pushing the rich national park heritage across four “wild west” states, Rocky Mountain International’s focus is on natural wonders like Yellowstone, which of course is built into an active volcano, and the steep Rocky mountain ranges known as the Alps of America. ITB BERLIN NEWS • Tuesday 17 th March 2015 www.itb-berlin-news.com
NEWS 15 ADVERTORIAL Marcel Sprenger Account Executive, Colorado Tourism Office Tara Tufo Citrus County Visitors Bureau’s Interim Director Colorado Tourism Office Beyond Denver, the Colorado capital and gateway to the state’s prime tourism destinations, the Colorado Tourism Office has been promoting some hidden gems at ITBBerlin 2015. “We have a partner here from the Broadmoor Resort, which is among some of the upscale products we’ve been talking about, including some upmarket getaways and ranches in the Rocky Mountains,” said Marcel Sprenger, Account Executive at the Colorado Tourism Office. “It’s been a successful show, it always is,” he added. “The German-speaking market was one focus, but we had contacts from Poland, from China and all over the world.” With world famous Colorado ski resorts doing a lot of their own marketing, Colorado Tourism is focused on the summer, or spring to fall market, including walking tours through the state’s abundant wilderness areas, which are well-equipped with campgrounds. That said, Colorado Tourism also promoted the travel opportunities afforded by ski championships and events taking place at the world famous Vail and Beaver Creek resorts in the state. Florida – Citrus County Visitors Bureau, Visit Gainesville and Explore Ocala County “We‘re the natural side of Florida,” said Tara Tufo, Citrus County Visitors Bureau’s Interim Director of the Gainesville, Ocala and Citrus County regions of the sun-drenched southern state. “It’s the horse capital of the world and has a big eco-tourism draw. It’s our first time here at ITBBerlin, so it’s been really good for us, it’s really exciting. We love that we have such great access with all the tour operators.” With much tourism in Florida focused around Miami, the east coast beaches and Orlando, these wilder west coast destinations where alligators can also be found, drew a lot of attention at ITBBerlin. “I work on the media relations side, so press-wise it was wonderful; it was a really, really great event,” said Tufo. “And I know that the team of tourism directors here who were working with the operators loved it, because I think we do have something that really speaks to this market.” WE LOVE THAT WE HAVE SUCH GREAT ACCESS WITH ALL THE TOUR OPERATORS. ITB BERLIN NEWS • Tuesday 17 th March 2015
