U.S. Travel Industry Taps Rosanne Cash to Lure Visitors
Bloomberg
The U.S. travel industry is kicking off a first-ever, $12.3 million marketing campaign, featuring an original song by country-music star Rosanne Cash.
Television, Internet and billboard ads will begin rolling out in the U.K., Canada and Japan starting May 1, said Jim Evans, chief executive officer of Washington-based Brand USA, a public-private marketing agency established by Congress in 2010.
The desire for travel to the U.S. has waned in the past decade as people said in polls that they knew enough about America from its films, TV shows and music, Evans said. Some U.S. economic, homeland-security and immigration policies during that time also made people around world believe America was “less welcoming” to tourists, he said.
Travel Channel announces new program slate
UPI.com
America’s Travel Channel says it has given the green light to three pilots and is developing two original travel series to air this year.
New pilots include “Barn Finds,” featuring antique car expert Corky Coker, who travels the back roads and small towns of the Deep South searching for priceless, rare American cars and automotive memorabilia; “The Kevin Michael Connolly Project,” which follows the author, photographer and self-proclaimed thrill-seeker — who was born without legs — as he travels the globe in search of adventure; and “Power Trip with Jason Harper,” featuring a travel, car and lifestyle writer who writes about his experiences from the driver’s seat, a synopsis said.
Have a hotel suite named after you – after your 250th stay
USA Today
Talk about cool perks: The InterContinental San Francisco hotel wants to treat its best, repeat customers to perks – way above and beyond what parent company IHG provides via the Priority Club loyalty program.
To do that, the hotel has launched a unique “Milestone Stay” program aimed at making you feel extra welcome on your 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, 100th, 150th and 250th stays.
If you make it to the top milestone, you can actually have suite named after you!
‘Borat’ boosted tourism to Kazakhstan, official says
Los Angeles Times
Kazakhstan was decidedly not amused when British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen poked fun at the former Soviet nation six years ago in his rollicking, often profane mockumentary “Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan.”
Now a Kazakh official says the ribbing has had an upside. Foreign tourism to Kazakhstan has surged since the film was released, with the number of visas to the country growing tenfold, Foreign Minister Erzhan Kazykhanov reportedly said Monday.
“For us it is a great victory. I am grateful to Borat, the main character of the movie, for tourists’ keen interest in Kazakhstan,” the Kazakh-based Tengri News quoted Kazykhanov as saying.
Who am I? I am a typical Gen-Xer and recovering cubicle-dweller who has a passion for all things travel. My site brings a unique perspective that is hard to find online. I am not a backpacker, nor am I...
