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Real America News
Volume E3, Issue 4, Spring 2008
Archive
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In this issue:
Nuts & Bolts 2008...from France
 When I wrote last year that our Region has a great potential, I didn’t imagine this would be that much! But the truth is there: French Tourism Industry is reporting a massive increase of the bookings to the US destinations, including our Real America! This is confirmed by the US Embassy, which reports a massive increase of visitation from France. We are approaching the numbers of pre-2001.
This is always interesting to understand what’s going on in order to choose the right path in terms of marketing and follow up.
We can explain this increasing success for our Region with the following thoughts;
- There is an increase of production in “Niche Tour Operators” who are selling trips fully dedicated to sports (golf, horse riding and ranches, mountain bikes…) or other activities orientated to culture and history.
- Amazingly, even if the results are getting better, the French Tour Operators are tightening their budget more and more. The result is less staff, and therefore more pressure on the producers of the industry who are now in charge of the production of the USA, Canada and sometimes Asia destinations… I let you imagine the relief your French Office brings when we help the Product Managers to built packages, give advises on routes or hotels. This certainly contributes to increase the visibility of our Region on this Market.
- The Internet is also becoming important as more products are shown on the web besides the paper production. Budget management is bringing changes in the way to present the production to the public. Web Sites created by the Companies are getting more reactive to the demand. This saves money and slows down the publishing of paper catalogues. This is also a great opportunity to suggest new products to the Tour Operators.
- The difference between the US Dollar and the Euro is also contributing to the attraction of the USA from the European countries including France.
- The Flight that will start between Paris and Salt Lake City will certainly contribute to more French in our Region on a long term! The opportunities to fly direct between Paris and the North West of the United States are expanding. This started last year with a direct flight between Paris and Seattle (operated by Air France). The trend is continuing with the direct flight to be started June 2nd ’08 between Paris and Salt Lake City. Looking at the production generated by most of the French Tour Operators, it appears that the French often travel through many states when they visit our Region. No doubt these new direct routes will drive more French to our part of the United States. You may have to learn a few French words…
The Round Up will confirm this trend. The French Market, despite an agenda that is extremely busy and the opportunities offered by other destinations in the World, is sending some of the best Companies to meet our States Representatives as well as the suppliers. This is another prove of the confidence this market have in our beautiful Real America!
Also and this is very important; I want to say the success of our destination on the French Market is also due to the long-term commitment of your States, Gateway Cities that work hands in hands with Rocky Mountain International. In a world where everything is moving so fast, the French Trade and Media appreciate a lot to be able to rely on our destination through a Representative that is stable. This is great help for them to call on your French Office they know for a long time!
To finish this Nut’s and Bolts, and if you allow me; I would give an advice. The best way to succeed with Tourism coming from Europe would be to stay connected to your State Representative.
They are aware of potential opportunities on every market including France, as they are constantly in contact with Rocky Mountain International, therefore your European Offices. They can also pass on the result of the knowledge they share with your Offices outbound.
The Real America is the box for beautiful jewels. In our Region, we have all the possibilities that can fulfill any kind of dreams for any tourists!
This is a great honor to “Whip and Spur” to promote our Real America on the French Market!
I wish you a great and successful Season!
Best regards
Hervé
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News from the States:
Montana
United Express: Service from Helena to Denver.
Denver, here we come!
Helena travelers will have another hub option and two more flights per day starting June 5, when United Express initiates service to Denver from the Helena Regional Airport.
Airport officials made the announcement Tuesday at a luncheon honoring donors to a matching fund that helped secure a Small Community Air Service Grant from the Department of Transportation.
Flights are expected to leave Helena for Denver daily at 7:30 a.m. and 4:06 p.m., with flights arriving here from the Colorado capital at 3:40 p.m. and 10:56 p.m. The schedules show a flight time of around 1 hour and 40 minutes.
The route will be served by 50-seat regional jets operated by SkyWest Airlines, the same regional carrier that contracts with Delta for the local flights to Salt Lake City.
The air service grant includes some money to market the new routes as well as existing routes from the airport, but much of it serves as a revenue guarantee for United in the event the airline's projected passenger counts from here fall short.
Typically the grants are awarded to communities where air service is limited and fares are high. Airport manager Ron Mercer said the rapid collection of $50,000 from the community showed that Helenans are serious about wanting better flight options.
Mercer said the contract is for a year, with a second year at the airline's option.
Frontier has new Flight in our region
Following the first phase of a major realignment of its route structure announced in November 2007, Frontier Airlines announced eight new regional destinations designed to optimize the financial performance of its Embraer E-170 and Bombardier Q400 regional aircraft (operated for Frontier by Republic Air and Lynx Aviation respectively). The new regional markets announced today are shorter-haul markets, better suited to leveraging the economics of the E-170 and the Q400. In conjunction with its regional expansion, Frontier is also increasing capacity to several of its most popular destinations as it replaces regional aircraft with mainline flying and increases frequencies in time for the busy summer travel season.
Utilizing its new fleet of Bombardier Q400 aircraft operated by Frontier Airlines Holdings, Inc. subsidiary Lynx Aviation, Frontier will serve four Colorado cities with non-stop, daily service from Denver.
The quiet, fuel-efficient and technologically-advanced Q400 aircraft are ideal for flying into smaller markets and allow Frontier to bring its industry-leading customer service to underserved markets unreachable with its larger aircraft. Frontier's new service is expected to reduce the average fare in many of the new markets by as much as 50%.
In addition to the expansion in its home state of Colorado, Frontier also announced several new non-stops to other Rocky Mountain and regional destinations from Denver including:
-- Jackson Hole Airport (JAC), Jackson, WY starting May 15, 2008
-- Missoula International Airport (MSO), Missoula, MT starting May 16, 2008
-- Gallatin Field Airport (BZN), Bozeman, MT starting May 22, 2008
-- Rapid City, SD (RAP) dates to be announced
Film rolling in Lincoln
Liz Cain sat in her immaculate log home Monday morning eating breakfast. While the task may have been mundane, her company was anything but.
Actor Christopher Lloyd — yes, Doc Brown from the “Back to the Future” movies and Reverend Jim from TV hit “Taxi” — stood in Cain’s kitchen, donning a blue and plaid bathrobe, preparing a batch of oatmeal.
Cain’s famous houseguest had about 40 film crew members fluttering around him while they shot a scene for a movie adaptation of Jack London’s “Call of the Wild.”
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Montana Towns Rank High in Hunting and Fishing
A national publication ranks five Montana towns among the nation's top 30 for hunting and fishing.
In an article titled "Paradise Found," Outdoor Life magazine recently named Lewistown the sixth best town in the country for hunting and fishing, and ranked Dillon No. 8 in a total ranking of the top 200 communities nationwide.
The magazine also noted the opportunities for hunters and anglers elsewhere in Montana: Livingston is ranked No. 13 and Helena came in at No. 16. The four Montana towns in the top 20 were more than for any other state. Butte also made the list with a ranking of 30.
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Montana Towns Rated Top Places
Bozeman and Missoula were rated by American Cowboy in their April/May issue as one of the top 20 places to live in the West. A national publication ranks five Montana towns among the nation's top 30 for hunting and fishing.
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Idaho
 Culinary Tourism in Idaho al a Rachael Ray
Two camera crews from Food Network’s “Rachael Ray’s Tasty Travels” shot footage in Ketchum and Sun Valley in early February. Four episodes will feature eating, entertainment and activities in Ketchum/Sun Valley. Air dates for the programming are yet to be set.
“It’s like a free commercial for every business we interview and it’s also a commercial for the city. We are showing the country parts of the country other people haven’t seen,” said Stangel, who started filming for “Forty Dollars a Day with Rachael Ray” five years ago.
During her visit, Rachael Ray stayed in one of the Sun Valley Lodge Apartments in Sun Valley Village and spent several hours on the slopes over the weekend!
Agassi's Idaho Resort – Outside’s go magazine – Feb/Mar 2008
"I always get two questions," Andre Agassi tells me as he reclines, sighing, on the living-room couch of a penthouse in Tamarack Resort’s Lodge at Osprey Meadows. “‘Why Idaho?’ And ‘Are you just attaching your name to this place?’” The sigh is one of satisfied fatigue—from a day on the slopes, a busy first year of retirement, and, apparently, this endless line of questioning.
It’s no coincidence that Agassi has been snowboarding for about a year now—it was forbidden, along with motorcycle racing and skydiving, during his playing days. He’s a quick but conservative study, betraying none of the reckless flamboyance that defined the early years of his tennis career. Case in point: Agassi’s favorite run on Tamarack’s 2,800 feet of vertical is a pleasant blue cruiser called Serenity.
Tamarack Resort welcomes back the Chevy US Snowboarding Grand Prix
The event pits the greatest highflyers in snowboarding against one another on the resort’s gnarly boarder cross course and 22-foot Hell’s Canyon super pipe. The newly carved kicker is 450-feet long and has 18 –foot high walls.
US Snowboarding’s Louie Vito (Columbus, OH/Sandy, UT) picked up a major victory winning at Tamarack Resort. Kelly Clark (West Dover, VT), 2002 Olympic gold medalist, won the women’s competition. The Chevy Grand Prix was broadcast on NBC on February 16.
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Wyoming
GO NATIVE AMERICA NOW OFFERS RV TOURS 
through traditional tribal homelands. Take this unique opportunity to explore and experience native history and cultures. Journey to the most memorable places and meet people you may never encounter on your own. For more information visit www.rvnativeamerica.com
GILLETTE COAL MINES RECEIVE NATIONAL RECLAMATION AWARDS
Congratulations to two Gillette area mining operations who received awards for reclaiming streams and returning mined land to functioning prairies, wildlife habitat, and pasture. The US Department of Interior's Office of Surface Mining awarded 2007 Director's Award and Bronze Good Neighbor Award for reclamation achievements at Caballo Creek Channel and Caballo Mine. Mines located in Campbell County, Wyoming, generate 25% of the nation's billion-plus tonnage each year. This is the largest and most productive coal operation, and serves the fastest growing markets in the U.S., thanks to its combination of the lowest sulphur coal and extremely low-cost production. Click here for award details. http://www.osmre.gov/news/091807.pdf.
For coal mine tours contact Campbell County Chamber of Commerce. http://www.gillettechamber.com/
YELLOWSTONE WOLF WATCHING TOUR CITED BY "NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELER"
In a cover story for National Geographic Traveler magazine, editors chose a Yellowstone winter wolf viewing expedition as one of only three U.S. recommendations, for one of 50 of the world's best "tours of a lifetime".
Various lodging and Learning Programs and field seminars conducted by the Yellowstone Association Institute and Xanterra Parks & Resorts, are the best way to discover the in-depth inner workings of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Other field activities include optional sunrise and sunset trips to look for wildlife, two classroom presentations, and easy one to three mile hikes. A complete listing of programs Is available at
www.travelyellowstone.com or www.yellowstoneassociation.org
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South Dakota
 Jewel Cave 100th Anniversary
On February 7, 2008, Jewel Cave National Monument marks 100 years since its establishment by Theodore Roosevelt on February 7, 1908. Celebration of this centennial year officially began with a special event at the monument on Saturday, February 9, that included a special program by Herb and Jan Conn, free tours, and light refreshments.
Jewel Cave is the second longest cave in the world.
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Badlands National Park
Badlands National Park announces the release of the Badlands Virtual Experience featured on Views of the National Parks. Views is an educational computer program available online at www2.nature.nps.gov/views. Views consists of two complementary components: virtual experiences and knowledge centers. Virtual experiences at eleven national parks provide multimedia gateways to park-based educational experiences. Knowledge centers present general information and principals on a variety of science themes such as glaciers, wilderness, and the scientific method. Students and teachers can request a free DVD-ROM copy of Views by emailing a request to badl_information@nps.gov. The virtual experiences and knowledge centers also provide a wealth of information for students conducting research projects.
"We'll call the thing Rushmore"
The four granite faces of Mount Rushmore National Memorial are recognized all over the world as America's Shrine of Democracy. But did you know the mountain itself was named after a Black Hills visitor? In the late 1800s, during the height of the gold rush, a New York attorney named Charles Rushmore came to the Black Hills. On his way to investigate a gold claim, he asked his guide the name of the mountain they were passing.
The guide, William Challis, replied, "It's never had any, but it has now, we'll call the thing Rushmore." In 1927, Sculptor Gutzon Borglum picked the mountain for his monumental carving and Charles Rushmore donated $5,000 toward its completion. However, it wasn't until 1930 that the United States Board of Geographic Names officially recognized the name Mount Rushmore.
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Rapid City Regional Airport to Chicago service
Airport officials announced Thursday that daily flights from Rapid City Regional Airport to Chicago will resume this April. United Airlines' service from Rapid City to the Windy City will run from April 21 through October 31. Airport officials say it was United's success with their daily flights from Regional to Chicago O'Hare last summer that prompted the airline to offer the service again. In addition, airport officials say the Rapid City-Chicago route will be serviced from June through September by "Ted," the low-cost arm of United Airlines that, officials say, is designed for vacationers.
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Gateway City News:
Denver
Denver Botanic Gardens - Urban Nature Exhibit, April 19-November 30, 2008
 "Urban Nature" will stimulate discussion and awareness of how nature can penetrate an urban environment; how humans change their landscape, whether built or natural; and how the city and built landscape can be highlighted in a garden setting. Pertinent issues facing city life will be addressed through a comprehensive program schedule, including music performances, artist demonstrations, panel discussions and educational classes for the urban gardener. Additional indoor exhibitions will address concepts of urban nature as well. 720-865-3500; www.denverbotanicgardens.org
Tesoro 8th Annual Indian Market and Powwow, May 17-18, 2008
Colorado’s largest Indian Market Powwow features Native American artists from across the country displaying arts, pottery, jewelry, paintings and sculptures. More than 60 tribes in vibrantly colored costumes fill the grounds with sacred songs and dancing during the Powwow competition. Get a true taste of culture and enjoy authentic Native American and early West food and drinks. 303-839-1671; www.tesorofoundation.org
Minneapolis/St. Paul/Bloomington
Northwest Announces Minneapolis/St. Paul To Paris Service
Northwest Airlines announced that it will offer new daily nonstop service from Minneapolis/St. Paul to Paris, France starting April 8, 2008. The new flight will be offered in cooperation with its joint venture partner, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines.
"On behalf of our employees at Northwest Airlines and our joint venture partner, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, we are excited to announce new, daily nonstop service that will connect Minneapolis/St. Paul to Paris," said Doug Steenland, President and CEO. "Customers traveling from the heartland on this new route will also experience the unparalleled service and comfort of an Airbus A330-300, our newest transatlantic aircraft."
The A330-300 offers 34 seats in World Business Class and 264 economy class seats.
Minneapolis/St. Paul to Paris begins April 8, 2008
Minneapolis/St. Paul-Paris Departs at 3:30pm and arrives at 7:20 a.m. the next day. Paris-Minneapolis/St. Paul Departs at 12:45 p.m. and arrives at 3:10 p.m. the same day.
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News from RMI Official Receptive Operators:
Rocky Mountain Holiday Tours
At the Go West Summit we heard all the talk by TIA and the US Dept of Commerce on how 2008 looks to be a flat year for inbound travelers to the USA. I am not certain who they are polling or what parts of the USA they are  referring to, but they need to talk to a few receptive operators working programs to the American West! After the dreadful years (world economy, introduction of the Euro, 9/11, etc) of 2001-02, travel to the American West began to pick up once again in 2003-04, with 2004 just a bit better than we had experienced in 2000, our previous record year. Then came 2005--a year of exceptional grown for travel to our region. This year there was pent up demand for the USA, a desire to visit areas where they felt more safe (the wide open spaces of the West), and the dollar began to weaken against the Euro. RMHTours experienced our single biggest growth in both the number of reservations we were handling and, of course, an even larger increase in our gross revenues (up 83% from the previous year). We were most happy and excited about the future of this industry.
We were not even disappointed when 2006 ended up being a flat growth year, happy that we were able to maintain the volume from the growth in 2005. But the trend continued with 2007, as again the increase was up 18% over the previous year, topping out as another great growth and record for our company.
With all this growth over the past three years, we were looking again at 2008 to be a year with "some growth", looking at around 5-8% in volume over what we had booked for 2007. But the weak dollar and (yes we have heard this from several persons) the changing American Political Scene have proven us to have totally underestimated the 2008 booking period. The reservation numbers as of Feb 1 are running just over 50% higher than the volume that we were handling one year before. How much longer can this trend hold out? Even with more planes to fill (Denver, Salt Lake City, Minneapolis, Seattle and Portland are all getting more direct flights from Europe this summer) there must be a limit of seats that will be filled up soon. We are also finding it harder and harder to find lodging in many areas of the West! We are trying to direct guest away from the areas that are already showing full--and suggesting they visit some of the areas that are just as scenic, but may not have been their first choice.
Where are the coming from....the biggest increases have been in France, Belgium and Italy. The UK and Germany are still holding their own, but the yearly increases in these markets are not the 20-30-40% annual increases we see from the first markets mentioned. The Netherlands had good increases for 2007 and are doing well for 2008, but started slower in 2005-06. But the overall winner for 2008 will be France--as by the time others begin their heavy booking seasons, they will have all the lodging pretty much booked!
Plan to hear from RMHTours a lot for the 2008 season--and we will begin to look forward to 2009 and again hoping that the upward trends will continue (slower maybe with some breathing room, but still continue).
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America 4 You!
What a amazing year! It took a while to realize what was going on - bookings coming in at double the rate than 2007 - and better! While many "new" visitors are coming to the U.S. this year (result of a very favorable exchange rate for European visitors and an impending change politically), a lot of "old" visitors are returning to the States as well, going back to destinations they have been to before (like the Southwest), but choosing different routings (instead of going back to the Grand Canyon South Rim they are now staying at Grand Canyon North Rim) - and discovering new destinations like the Rocky Mountain States. We have seen a definite increase in bookings to that area, thanks to a great marketing effort, which resulted in more and more operators publishing RMI products and itineraries. A growing (returning) consumer interest concerning the U.S. last year resulted in more tour operators being willing to add catalog pages which were used to showcase "new" destinations like the RMI states.
Such a drastic increase in bookings of course brings its challenges as well - sold-out dates are increasing and are resulting in creative itinerary changes in order to fulfill the customers desire to travel to places were the inventory is running thin (Yellowstone N.P.!) But after years of suffering from the aftermath of 9/11 it's a good problem to have!
America 4 You L.L.C.
P.O. Box 2214
Fullerton, CA 92837
Tel. (714)447-3826
FAX (714)447-3627
E-mail: info@america4you.net
Web: www.america4you.net
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