COMPANIES MAKE TRAVEL PITCH : CONVENTION DRAWS FOREIGN AGENCIES THAT BOOK TRIPS.Byline: Gregory J. Wilcox Daily News Staff Writer Economically speaking, the vibes that Joseph Hafez picked up Monday at the Discover America International Pow Wow indicate that business is going to be pretty good at his Sherman Oaks tour agency. Hafez scheduled about 50 appointments over the next three days with foreign travel agents interested in hiring his company, Oskar J's Red Car Trolley. ``It's basically most of the foreign business we receive,'' Hafez said of the event at the Los Angeles Convention Center The Los Angeles Convention Center (abbreviated LACC) is a convention center in downtown Los Angeles. The LACC hosts annual events such as the Greater Los Angeles Auto Show, and was best known to video games fans as host to E3 until its cessation in 2006. that's being sponsored by the Travel Industry Association. ``But it will be hard to tell how much (business) we did until we finish the show.'' The outlook is pretty bright, though. Officials representing foreign travel companies are in town for a spending spree Noun 1. spending spree - a brief period of extravagant spending spree, fling - a brief indulgence of your impulses . They will book about $3 billion worth of vacations that foreign tourists will take over the next several years and about $300 million of that money will flow through the Southland. According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the Travel Industry Association, business deals made at the Pow Wow are responsible for one out of every eight visits by a foreign tourist to a U.S. destination. That's good news for Hafez, who relies on the foreign market for nearly 65 percent of his business. Many of the clients he will see over the next few days are repeat customers. Hafez has owned Oskar J's for 15 years and he's attended the Pow Wow each year. The trade show is unique, he said, because vendors write contracts on the spot rather than just introduce new products to the market. Oskar J's product is sightseeing tours to a variety of Southland attractions such as Universal CityWalk Universal CityWalk is a part of Universal Studios Hollywood, Universal Orlando Resort and Universal Studios Japan originating from Universal's first park, Universal Studios Hollywood. , Rodeo Drive Rodeo Drive (IPA: /roʊˈdeɪoʊ/) generally refers to a famous three-block long stretch of boutiques and shops in Beverly Hills, California, United States, although the street stretches further north and south. , Disneyland, the J. Paul Getty Jean Paul Getty (December 15, 1892 – June 6, 1976) was an American industrialist and founder of the Getty Oil Company. Biography Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, into a family already in the petroleum business, he was one of the first people in the world with a Museum and South Bay beaches. Adult tours range in price from $47 to $70 a day. Foreign visitors consider U.S. destinations, especially hot spots hot spots acute moist dermatitis. like Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. , a good vacation value, Hafez said. ``More and more people are coming to the Valley because it's a good value,'' he said of foreign tourists. ``It's cheaper for them to come to Universal City and spend their money than go somewhere in Europe for three or four days.'' Bernhard-Peter Franz, managing director of Inter-Connect, a reservation service in Germany, agrees. He represents Oskar J's in the European market and says he has no trouble booking business for the company. And it's a lucrative source of revenue. Franz said that when German tourists plan a vacation to the U.S. they stay for three weeks to a month. And they usually spend between $100 to $150 a day. ``A strength of the German tourist is their market value. They are not just staying two or three days,'' he said. In the past decade spending in the U.S. by foreign tourists has increased from $26 billion a year to $78 billion, association officials said. Spending was flat between 1994 and 1995, but industry officials point out that the 1994 figures reflect soccer fans who came here for the World Cup tournament. Los Angeles is the second most popular destination behind New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of , the association said. But for some foreign travel agents like Thomas Yosiffidis of Ampro Travel in Richmond, Australia, and Nelly Fouad of Abu Simbel Abu Simbel Site of two temples built by Ramses II in the 13th century BC. The area, at the southern frontier of pharaonic Egypt, lies near the present-day border between Egypt and The Sudan. The temples were unknown to the outside world until their rediscovery in 1813. Travel in Cairo, Egypt, Los Angeles is definitely the place. The reason? ``It's the fast lifestyle, the weather and Disneyland,'' said Yosiffidis, who books hotels for tour groups. He steers businesses to hotels in Pasadena, West Los Angeles
Pasadena gets the nod for shopping and restaurants, and the tourists he sends there are middle-aged and older. Younger visitors he books into the Westwood area. ``It's something they would expect L.A. to be,'' he said. Fouad said she will send about 3,000 visitors to the U.S. over the next several years and just about all of them will want to see Los Angeles. ``You have a lot of attractions and a lot of entertainment with Disneyland and Universal Studios. It's really appealing, and the people are very hospitable,'' she said. ``Everything here is great.'' CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: (Color) Joseph Hafez of Oskar J's Red Car Trolley, g reets a visitor at his booth. Tom Mendoza/Daily News |
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