Spotlight on the Southwest Travel Trade Show Head to San Diego

Travel professionals from throughout the United States and Canada will gather at the Holiday Inn Bayside in San Diego for the 14^th Annual Spotlight on the Southwest Tourism conference on March 26-28, 2012. Spotlight on the Southwestern combines educational seminars, networking functions and a trade show. Operators hail from throughout the U.S. and Canada and range from small operations to large receptive companies and everything in between. The ratio of suppliers to operators is never more than 2.5 to 1.

Spotlight is casual and intimate and is not just about networking – but about building mutually successful and long-lasting business relationships. New tour itineraries to off the beaten path destinations are highlighted, using the closest Southwestern gateway cities as arrival and departure points.

Anne Basile from Mirage Tours comments, “Spotlight is one of my favorite annual conferences. It is great for developing relationships as I have made so many good business contacts and friends over the years.  I have attended 12 of the 13 past conferences and encourage other operators to attend.”

“I like to attend Spotlight because I get to meet with operators who don’t attend NTA, ABA, or any other show.  It’s a loyal group of tour operators who produce,” states Kevin Rice from the Palm Springs and Desert Resorts CVA. “Spotlight is one of the most enjoyable conferences that I have ever attended,” adds Bernadette Anthony from CasaBlanca Resort in Mesquite, NV. “It was a pleasure to meet new colleagues and get reacquainted with friends from the past.  I attended the conference as a supplier, but feel like I left as a true partner.”

A Pre-Fam, March 24-26, 2012, is sponsored by the San Diego CVB and will highlight San Diego’s favorite tour attractions, including SeaWorld, the San Diego Zoo, and the USS Midway.  Exploring LaJolla is also on the agenda for fam attendees.

The Spotlight Conference itself will begin on March 26with a welcome reception, sponsored by Bartell Hotels. March 27 will feature a seminar entitled “Selling Passion” followed by a two-hour trade show.  Travel Planners will be asked to take notes on special themes which evoke passion, thus creating new niche itineraries to different southwest regions.  Lunch will be followed by an itinerary planning workshop. Then a progressive dinner around San Diego will conclude the day.

The final morning Navajo Nation Hospitality will sponsor the tour operator breakfast which features a discussion on the power of social networking.

Anyone interested in tourism to the Southwest can join the Group “Spotlight on the Southwest” on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/group.php?gid=114998145199522.

For more information please visit www.spotlightsw.com or call 480-926-5547.

2011 Group Travel Intentions Survey Results

Crisis Management Tool Kit Available for Bus Operators

Responsible bus operators frustrated and concerned about the long-term effects the recent spate of illegal motorcoach mercenary crashes could have on their companies now have available to them a special toolkit designed to help them prepare for, navigate, and ultimately emerge triumphant from the situation with the new “Crisis Management In A Box” developed by The Media Consultant Group.

“As a bus operator, you may become the face of the industry when something bad happens,” Media Consultant Group President & CEO Eron Shosteck writes in the introduction of the new 20-page step-by-step guide. “Use the attention as a chance to show how much your company is doing for safety. Define your business in your terms. Refuse to let it be defined in distorted terms by those who know little about it.”

The Media Consultant Group’s “Crisis Management In A Box” toolkit is designed to be the right tool at the right time to empower operators with the strategies they need. “Crisis Management In A Box” tactics include how to approach direct crises vs. indirect crises, how and when to engage the media, a 100-question checklist operators should have the answers for within reach at all times, how to turn ambushes into opportunities to showcase your company’s operations, and tips to help operators combat bus safety distortions to protect their companies’ reputations and reassure their customers.

“The current crisis regarding the perception of bus safety is so widespread and overheated that every operator is likely to be affected if they do not take some kind of corrective action,” Shosteck explains in the Media Consultant Group report. “There is no performance metric to measure the possible effects that the erosion of consumer confidence in bus travel could ultimately have. Left unaddressed, however, it could damage the bottom line of bus operators throughout North America irreparably.”

Shosteck authored the step-by-step crisis management guide in response to calls he received from operators requesting it. It also includes information for companies on the importance of building media relationships to establish clear lines of communication.

The Media Consultant Group is also offering on-site media training, crisis mitigation exercises and mock press drills in response to operator requests.

For more information, visit http://www.mediaconsultantgroup.com/products.

Travel Professionals Discover Blue Ocean Strategy at 13th Annual Spotlight on the Southwest

Travel professionals from throughout the United States and Canada will gather at the Hyatt Tamaya on  the Santa Ana Pueblo near Rio Rancho, New Mexico for the  13th Annual Spotlight on the Southwest  Tourism Conference on April 3-5, 2011.   Keynote speaker, Vern Biaett, will present the  Blue Ocean Strategy, one of the most fascinating and up-and-coming marketing strategies in the world today. Based on a study of 150 strategic moves spanning more than a hundred years and thirty industries, Blue Ocean proclaims that tomorrow’s leading companies will succeed not by battling competitors, but by creating “blue oceans” of uncontested marked space ripe for growth. Such strategic moves—termed “value innovation”—create powerful leaps in value for both the firm and its buyers, rendering rivals obsolete and unleashing new demand.

Spotlight on the Southwestern USA is a tourism conference which combines educational seminars, networking functions and a trade show. Operators are primarily domestic (including Canada) and range from small operations to large receptive companies (and everything in between). The ratio of suppliers to operators is never more than 2.5 to 1. Spotlight is casual and intimate and is not just about networking – but about building mutually successful business  relationships. New tour itineraries to off the beaten path destinations are highlighted, using the closest Southwestern gateway cities as arrival and departure points.

“I like to attend Spotlight because I get to meet with operators who don’t attend NTA, ABA, or any other show.  It’s a loyal group of tour operators who produce,” states Kevin Rice from the Palm Springs and Desert Resorts CVA. Similarly Anne Basile from Mirage Tours comments, “Spotlight is one of my favorite annual conferences. It is great for developing relationships as  I have made so many good business contacts and friends over the years. I have attended 12 of the 13 past conferences and encourage other operators to attend.”

For more information and both supplier and buyer registration information please visit www.spotlightsw.com or call 480-926-5547.

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