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WEEKEND GETAWAY
News: Texas travel industry briefs
PIRATES AT PORT
The owners of Osprey Fishing Trips decided to combine the established popularity of theme parks with the magnetism and romance of piracy, which is undergoing a great resurgence of interest. The vessel, which can accommodate 100 passengers, is 75 feet long, weighs 80 gross tons and is 57 feet high from her waterline to the top of her mainmast. Below the water line, she is a modern seaworthy vessel with the latest marine technology, but above the water, she is a trip back into time. For full effect, the adventure comes with a crew –– speaking in pirate lingo –– offering stories, face painting, treasure hunt, a water pistol battle, sword fighting, booty, music and more. “We want to provide an authentic reproduction of a 18th-century pirate galleon coupled with today’s advanced entertainment technology. Add to that an experienced and professional troupe of pirates, four restaurants, shopping, dolphin watches, fishing, a marine biology center, museum, and the historic Port Isabel lighthouse, and we expect to have one of the premier pageants in the state of Texas,” says Captain and co-owner Phil Calo. For more information, call (956) 943-6283, or go to www.blackdragoncruises.com. TRAVEL NEWS
The Alamo, which holds the distinction of being the most visited destination in The program –– in English, Spanish, French, German and Japanese––allows visitors to take the tour at their own pace so they can soak in the music, sound effects, narration and readings of accounts of battle survivors. A map guides visitors through 30 sequentially numbered points of interest on the grounds, including often overlooked details like the dent at the base of the façade of this Shrine of Texas Liberty where a cannonball left its mark; a 1914 Japanese monument; and an explanation of the Visitors can view the sites out of order and repeat their favorite audio segments. For more information, visit the alamo online. Texas Department of Agriculture’s GO TEXAN program is presenting an Aug. 14 regional tourism workshop in The daylong workshop features industry experts offering presentations and breakout sessions on travel research, trends, development strategies, funding opportunities, marketing and more that are customized to meet the needs of the Whether you're a seasoned tourism industry veteran or an industry newcomer in South South Padre Island CVB Executive Director Dan Quandt will speak on the topic of marketing with limited resources and budgets. State agencies, which serve as partners in the travel and tourism business, also will be present. There will be briefings from the Texas Department of Transportation; Office of the Governor, Economic Development and Tourism Division; Texas Historical Commission; Texas Commission on the Arts; and the Other topics include Researching Your Target Market, How to Go Green Without Breaking the Bank, and For more information, visit check out the Tourism Workshop Series. The Texas Travel Summit, the annual conference of the Texas Travel Industry Association, is gearing up for the Sept. 21–24 event with confirmed speakers and events in the host city, Texas State Comptroller of Public Accounts Susan Combs is the Awards Luncheon keynote speaker. The Atkins Group President Steve Atkins, Travel Industry Association Communications Manager Greg Staley and Greater New Braunfels Chamber of Commerce Director Judy Young will be speakers for the “Marketing on a Shoestring Budget” breakout session. An optional Texas Nature/Cultural and Heritage Tourism Event will include a behind-the-scenes tour of a Special TTIA rates are available at the Moody Gardens Hotel, Spa & Convention Center and the San Luis Resort, For more information, visit TTIA. The Travel Industry Association’s recent survey shows that travelers are so frustrated with airline processes that they are changing their air traveling behaviors. The survey shows that an estimated 41 million trips over the past 12 months have been avoided at a cost of more than $26 billion to the The research, conducted by the Peter D. Hart Research Associates and The Winston Group, also shows that air travelers have little hope for a positive change, with nearly 50 percent saying that the air-travel system is not likely to improve in the near future. “The air travel crisis has hit a tipping point –– each day, more than 100,000 travelers are voting with their wallets by choosing to avoid trips,” says Roger Dow, president and CEO of TIA. “This landmark research should be a wake up call to Dow noted that the 41 million avoided trips during the last 12 months rippled outward across the entire travel community costing airlines more than $9 billion in revenue; hotels nearly $6 billion; and restaurants more than $3 billion. In addition, federal, state and local governments lost more than $4 billion in tax revenue because of reduced spending by travelers. Travelers are most irritated about the air-travel process, not the airlines. Issues the federal government can address are travelers’ top concerns: delays, cancellations and inefficient security screening. “With rising fuel prices already weighing heavily on American pocketbooks, we need to find ways to encourage Americans to continue their business and leisure travel. Unfortunately, just the opposite appears to be happening,” says Dow. Following this landmark survey, TIA has called on each of the major presidential candidates to commit to addressing this issue for the millions of American air travelers who face the trials of the antiquated air traffic system on a daily basis and to issue a comprehensive plan to fix major elements of the air-travel system during the first term in office. The survey of 1,003 air travelers (adults who had taken at least one roundtrip by air in the last 12 months) was conducted between May 6 and May 13 and the statistical margin of sampling error is plus/minus 3.2 percentage points. ONLINE BATTLEGROUND
According to Meeting News magazine, convention and visitors bureaus are going online to wage their battles to win meetings and leisure visitors, among them are CVBs in Houston and Frisco. The article states, “Realizing that the Internet is one of the first places tech-savvy meeting planners go for destination research, countless CVBs recently have updated or even completely overhauled their Web sites to give planners efficient and information-rich visits. "While Chapel Hill, N.C., and Frisco, Texas, are just two of the latest bureaus to roll out redesigned Web sites, major tourism players like Las Vegas and San Francisco have gone a Web step further by debuting micro-Web sites (or microsites) focusing on a particular destination feature or topic of interest.” The Greater Houston Convention & Visitors Bureau, because of the city's Latino influence, even has created an all-Spanish site. The San Francisco Convention & Visitors Bureau, for example, has created a food and wine microsite to tout the city's renowned culinary offerings. TasteSF resides within the SFCVB's redone site, themed in conjunction with the “only in In Other CVBs will create customized microsites for meetings and events. The tactic lets planners send content and messages to attendees. Bureaus that customize now include On a six-month rotating basis, TxDOT’s Texas Travel Information Centers offer free exhibit space to all CVBs, chambers of commerce, and rural and regional tourism organizations that promote travel to a specific area. Applications are accepted in June and December. Interested organizations should call the Travel Services office at (512) 486-5800 or visit TxDOT online for details. Groups recently awarded display space for Sept. 1 to March 31 are: Anthony: Texas Independence Trail Region Valley: Central Texas Bluebonnet Travel Council Waskom: ANCIENT EXHIBIT
Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs explores the figures who guided ancient Egypt more than 3,000 years ago, including the 18th-Dynasty, a 100-year period when Egypt was at the height of its power and in its "golden age" of artistry. This was the era when Tutankhamun and his ancestors reigned. The extensive array of more than 130 extraordinary artifacts from the tomb of Tutankhamun and other ancient Egyptian sites features 50 of Tutankhamun's burial objects, including his royal diadem and one of the four gold and precious stone inlaid canopic coffinettes that contained his mummified internal organs. Group bookings of more than 40 people traveling a minimum of 100 miles round trip can receive a $100 gas card to help offset the rising gas prices of motorcoach transport. For more information, visit King Tut. IN THE PRESS
Sherman’s Travel Magazine Editor-at-large Arabella Bowen named South Padre Island in her Car-free U.S. Destinations Top Ten list –– places where it’s cool to ditch the car. “You're never more than half a mile from the bay or the beach, and there's a free shuttle called The Wave to get you around the island,” she says. This 34-mile-long, half-mile wide barrier island on the Gulf of Mexico “may be best known for its bawdy spring break ritual, but the island equally boasts experiences for couples, families and just about everyone in between –– all within a compact stretch of surf and sand,” Bowen says, adding that South Padre Island also offers opportunities for watching wildlife, birding, fishing and watersports. There’s also Schlitterbahn, one of the top water parks in the nation. Jefferson was voted the Jefferson, the Riverport to the Southwest, is noted for maintaining the sense of Southern gentility that existed in the steamboat era along the It is also noted as a pedestrian community where residents and visitors can walk to museums, banks, restaurants, coffee shops, governmental offices, antique shops and bars, as well as a park in an intimate riverfront setting. They can then spend an evening in a historic hotel, motel or bed and breakfast. But, there is a modern perk. Jefferson recently rmoved a 1934 Nearby are Caddo is a water garden of bayous, cypress trees, Spanish moss, lotuses and water lilies. Night tours of this swamp are available. WE LIKE IT, TOO
“Who needs The article touts the region as “lush, colorful and … dotted with beautiful green hills that are evocative of The German-style biergartens and schnitzelhauses in “We are proud to have the Texas Hill Country featured as the No. 1 summer destination in The New York Times,” says Janie Headrick, state coordinator of the Texas Historic Commission’s Texas Heritage Trails Program. “This article just confirms what most Texans already know, which is that there are so many beautiful and unique places within our great state and right in our own backyards.” INDUSTRY INSIDERS
Bryan-College Station Convention and Visitors Bureau’s first president and CEO, Barry Biggar, resigned, effective July 31, to head the Fairfax County, Va., Convention and Visitors Corp. and move closer to relatives. “This certainly was not an easy decision to make,” Biggar told the Bryan-College Station Eagle. “We will greatly miss Bryan-College Station.” The agency, originally a part of the Bryan-College Station Chamber of Commerce, spun off and absorbed the Brazos Valley Sports Foundation in October 2002. Biggar came on board to take the lead in early 2003. "We were extremely fortunate as a community to benefit from Barry's leadership and enthusiasm," says Bryan-College Station Visitors Bureau Board Chairman Steve Moore. The bureau will use a national search to find Biggar’s successor. In the meantime, Sales and Destination Marketing Supervisor Shannon Overby will take the lead. "All those who love wildlife and wide open spaces should thank Mike Berger for a lifetime of service," says Carter Smith, TPWD executive director. "Mike will tell you that he led teams, that he worked with many partners, that he didn’t do it all himself. But, his strong leadership and principled commitment to values helped show the way and get things done. He will be sorely missed, and we wish him the best." Smith says TPWD will soon begin a nationwide search to fill the wildlife director position. Sandra Torres has been named the new supervisor for the Texas Department of Transportation’s Torres has been a travel counselor at the Travel Services Section Director Brenda Harper says, “Sandra’s experience and knowledge –– of travel counseling, and with leading the Also at the Dee-dee Villanueva, formerly a tourism services representative with the McKinney Convention and Visitors Bureau, has been named the bureau’s new Tourism Sales Manager. She will be responsible for the bureau’s leisure sales efforts. She will continue her other responsibilities until the tourism services representative position is filled. Which The 27th Hotter ’N Hell Hundred cycling event, set for Aug. 23, includes a criterium race, road race, endurance ride, off-road bicycle race and off-road trail run that range from 10k to 100 miles. It is the largest single day 100 mile bicycle ride in the nation –– and possibly the world. There also will be entertainment, food and more. For information, visit Hotter 'N Hell Hundred. |
Black Dragon, a replica of the famed Spanish galleons, which plied the Gulf of Mexico and the 
Priceless treasures from King Tut’s tomb will be featured this fall for National Geographic’s three-city encore tour opening at the Dallas Museum of Art on Oct. 3 (through May 17). Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs, which focuses on King Tut and his ancestors, has captivated audiences around the world, attracting more than 5 million visitors during its first U.S. tour from 2005–2007 and its current run in London. 
The New York Times recently named the Texas Hill Country as the No. 1 place to visit in its feature article “31 Places to Go This Summer.” EVENTS CALENDAR
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