TRAVEL TITANS BRING BIG BUDGETS TO TOWN : FOREIGNERS WITH POWER TO BOOK TONS OF TOURISTS TREATED TO PARTY DESIGNED TO MAKE L.A. SHINE.Byline: Gregory J. Wilcox Daily News Staff Writer About 5,500 foreign visitors will whoop whoop (hldbomacp) the sonorous and convulsive inhalation of whooping cough. whoop n. The paroxysmal gasp characteristic of whooping cough. it up in what could be the ultimate L.A. experience this week. Along the way, the local tourism industry will reap a mighty profit. The festivities fes·tiv·i·ty n. pl. fes·tiv·i·ties 1. A joyous feast, holiday, or celebration; a festival. 2. The pleasure, joy, and gaiety of a festival or celebration. 3. officially start tonight at Universal Studios with a lavish party featuring Dick Clark
Richard Wagstaff "Dick" Clark (born November 30, 1929) is an Emmy Award-winning American television, radio personality, game show host and businessman, he served as , America's oldest living teen-ager, as the disc jockey disc jockey (DJ) Person who plays recorded music on radio or television or at a nightclub or other live venue. Disc jockey programs became the economic base of many radio stations in the U.S. after World War II. . On Wednesday night, crooner Tom Jones will help say goodbye at an even bigger block party downtown. In between, visitors will get red carpet treatment red carpet treatment n → réception f en grande pompe red carpet treatment red n to give sb the red carpet treatment → den roten Teppich für jdn ausrollen at hot nightspots from the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. to Santa Monica Santa Monica (săn`tə mŏn`ĭkə), city (1990 pop. 86,905), Los Angeles co., S Calif., on Santa Monica Bay; inc. 1886. Tourism and retailing are important, and the city has motion-picture, biotechnology, and software industries. . And they won't have to stand in line to get in the trendy Viper Room Coordinates: The Viper Room is a nightclub located along the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, California. It was opened in 1993 and was partly owned by actor Johnny Depp until 2004. on the Sunset Strip The Sunset Strip is the name given to the mile and a half stretch of Sunset Boulevard that passes through West Hollywood, California. It extends from West Hollywood's east border with Hollywood at Marmont Lane to its west border with Beverly Hills at Phyllis street. . Don't look for long lines In communications, circuits that are capable of handling transmissions over long distances. of limousines, though. These folks will be hauled around town in buses. And they will spend, spend spend. The group is in town for the Travel Industry Association's Discover America International Pow Wow '96. It's the largest international travel trade show for the promotion and sale of American travel destinations. Foreign travel agents are coming from 70 countries and bringing their checkbooks, with 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. reaping a substantial windfall. About 500 foreign journalists are accompanying them, and local leaders hope they write glowing stories about their stays. The serious stuff will start Monday and continue through Wednesday 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. , where agents will book about $3 billion worth of trips to American destinations. Of that amount, about $300 million will be spent on future tourism in Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, . ``This is a tremendous opportunity to showcase L.A. to the very people who will be advising travel consumers around the world,'' said George D. Kirkland, president of the Los Angeles Visitors and Convention Bureau. ``This meeting will have a long-term impact on jobs and taxes in Los Angeles.'' Within a few years, local travel industry employment is expected to grow by 4,400 jobs, he said, just from the local sales made during Pow Wow. The reason this show is so important is that the agents attending are the travel industry's wholesalers. They buy trips in bulk and are responsible for arranging vacations for about 90 percent of the foreign visitors who come to the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. . It's also an opportunity for Los Angeles to do some major image repair by showing the world that the scars from rioting, fires, floods and the Northridge Earthquake The Northridge earthquake occurred on January 17, 1994 at 4:31 AM Pacific Standard Time in the city of Los Angeles, California. The earthquake had a "strong" moment magnitude of 6. have healed. Tourism is the second biggest industry in the five-county Los Angeles area, employing about 445,000 people. About half of them work in Los Angeles County. ``It's a very important event for us. We've really got to strut our stuff,'' Jack Kyser, chief economist for the Economic Development Corp. of Los Angeles County, said of Pow Wow. About 22.1 million tourists visited Southern California last year, down slightly from 22.2 million in 1994, when the World Cup soccer tournament was held in Pasadena. Last year, tourists spent about $10 billion locally, and the money moved rapidly through the economy, eventually generating a $23 billion impact. Foreign tourism accounts for about 25 percent of the visitors, but 38 percent of the spending. That's why executives at Universal Studios Hollywood are excited about hosting the official welcoming party. ``It's an absolutely huge opportunity. We are showcasing ourselves to the world in a short amount of time,'' said Heidi Geier, vice president of sales for the Universal City theme park. ``It will really affect our business for many, many years to come.'' Geier could not say how much future revenue the event will produce for the park, but she expects it to boost business by several hundred thousand visitors. Universal executives started planning the party 18 months ago. Guests tonight will be welcomed by a surprise celebrity from Universal's stable of stars. Local tourism has been recovering over the past several years, Geier noted. ``We are recording record numbers from all of our top countries, especially Japan, Germany and the United Kingdom,'' she said. ``They have been sending huge numbers of tourists to Southern California over the past few years.'' Pow Wow started 28 years ago to help American companies compete in the global marketplace. The event's name was chosen for its distinctive American resonance. It comes from the Algonquin Indian tribe INDIAN TRIBE. A separate and distinct community or body of the aboriginal Indian race of men found in the United States. 2. Such a tribe, situated within the boundaries of a state, and exercising the powers of government and, sovereignty, under the national and means a gathering of chieftains to discuss business. And business is the focus of the event. During the day, delegates will prowl the convention center floor, where they have appointments with vendors every 20 minutes. There will be 1,263 domestic companies selling travel products. In addition to a shopping bazaar, delegates and foreign journalists can take 28 tours designed to show off the diversity of Los Angeles. This is double the number of tours offered at last year's meeting in 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 , said Michael C.R. Collins, the L.A. convention bureau's executive vice president. One of those tours is billed as ``Ventura Underground: Valley Dancing.'' Among the venues is B.B. King's Jazz Club at Universal CityWalk. Delegates who arrived Saturday were able to attend a party and catch a baseball game at Dodger Stadium. Hiking trips and visits to amusement parks and museums are also planned. This afternoon, about 200 delegates will visit Six Flags California in Valencia to sample four of the park's 11 roller coasters. ``It's a great opportunity for us to show off our facilities,'' said park spokeswoman Bonnie Rabjohn. ``But all of L.A. will benefit from the exposure.'' Some of the cash from Pow Wow has already rolled in for J. Ben Bourgeois, owner of J. Ben Bourgeois Productions Inc. in Burbank. The company puts on special event productions worldwide and is organizing Wednesday's closing party, ``The Heart and Soul of L.A.'' Downtown streets will be blocked off and turned into such Los Angeles namesakes as Sunset Boulevard, Melrose Avenue and Venice Beach. The contract was worth ``above seven figures'' to his company, Bourgeois said. ``It's attractive to us because of the audience,'' he said of the gig. ``These are the big travel buyers. It's a great opportunity for us to be out in front of people who are potential clients.'' CAPTION(S): 2 Photos Photo: (1--color) Universal Studios is duplicating its F lorida entrance here. (2--color) Finishing touches are applied to the new entrance at Universal Studios, a major stop during the travel convention. Gus Ruelas/Daily News |
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