Officials from State and City Tourism host events in Auckland and Sydney
Salem, Ore. – Oct. 24, 2012 – Travel Oregon and its partners at Travel Portland hosted more than 50 key industry partners and travel media in Sydney last night to launch a week-long mission further exposing the destination to the important New Zealand and Australian markets.
The mission will proceed to Auckland, where an event and meetings will be held allowing media and key wholesaler and airline partners to learn more about what this Northwestern US State has to offer New Zealand travelers.
“Travel Oregon is dedicated to our important Down Under markets,” said Lisa Itel, Global Sales Director, The Americas and Oceania. “We feel that the attractions and people of Oregon have a natural affiliation with adventurous travelers from Australia and New Zealand. We produce award winning wines and fabulous craft beers, and have become a foodies paradise over the last couple of years renowned for our Portland coffee and café culture and also our unique gourmet food truck culture. But we also have some great natural landscapes with hiking, cycling and kayaking activities that we feel appeal to travelers who really want to immerse themselves in our relaxed lifestyle.”
Travel Oregon announced in August the appointment of Corey Marshall as Account Director – Australia and New Zealand. Corey is presenting creative travel solutions for Australia and New Zealand travel trade, and tour 0perators, on how Oregon can fit into their programs and publications.
Known for its outdoor lifestyle, Oregon is home to more than 6,000 lakes including Crater Lake National Park –the deepest lake in the US. It also has 400 ski trails and 1,400 rock-climbing routes. In addition, the State has no sales tax, and it is illegal to pump your own petrol giving visitors a real break when they visit this beautiful state!
New Zealand arrivals into Oregon were estimated at 38,000 in 2011, representing an increase of more than 5% over the previous year.*
About Travel Oregon
Travel Oregon works to enhance visitors’ experience by providing information, resources and trip planning tools that inspire travel and consistently convey the exceptional quality of Oregon. The commission aims to improve Oregonians’ quality of life by strengthening economic impacts of the state’s $8.8 billion tourism industry that employs nearly 92,000 Oregonians. www.TravelOregon.com. Corey can be reached at Oregon@canuckiwi.com or on + 64 21 555 463.
* Travel Oregon estimates are based on and extrapolated from aggregate card usage data provided by VisaVue® Travel. They incorporate data from other independent research sources. Spending amounts and patterns are based on face-to-face Visa card transactions in Oregon. Transactions utilizing cash, pre-paid, phone, internet, and other credit/debit cards are not included. Conversion factors are used to extrapolate arrivals, but spending per visitor is in its raw form (only Visa card purchases). Amounts on this sheet are rounded, with associated rounding errors. All calculations are done on un-rounded data.
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