I am excited to announce I have my first press passes for a convention, the Travel & Adventure Show, an open-to-the-public travel show that gathers destinations, tour operators, cruise lines, airlines, and more to help you plan your next in-state weekend road trip or next big vacation abroad. They have well-renowned speakers from the travel industry experts including Rick Steve of his travel PBS TV series, Sarah Dandashy of Ask A Concierge, investigative journalist Peter Greenberg, Pauline Frommer of Frommer Travel Guides, and more to maximize travel inspiration and experiences.
The Los Angeles leg will be on February 18th & 19th, at the Los Angeles Convention Center is located next to the Crypto.com Arena. I will be there to interview vendors and speakers about them, their companies, and the outlook for the hospitality, travel, and tourism industries in the upcoming years. If you are available that weekend, it is open Saturday from 10 am to 4 pm, and Sunday at 11 am. Adult tickets start at $11 and children under 16 years are free. If you can’t make it, my interviews will be posted the days after the show.
I am excited about the media interviews as back in 2018, I attended the San Francisco Bay Area location back in 2018, where I got one of my front office internships with Tenaya Lodge at Yosemite, located outside of Yosemite’s south gate, north of Fresno & Oakhurst. I watched a talk there and did a meet & greet afterward with one of my favorite TV travel hosts, Samantha Brown, who did many series on Travel Channel, and now has her own show on PBS, Places to Love. However, she was only there for the New York City & Washington DC legs of the show’s tour this year. This inspired me to come back every year, except for 2020 & 2021 where it was taken online as the Bay Area leg was about to happen when the 2020 closures happened in March.
I went to the LA Travel & Adventure Show in 2022, and it is great for me to come back this year as a media with a budding blog & YouTube channel a year later to interview Peter Greenberg & Pauline Frommer as I did meet & greet with them last year with both of them. Hopefully, I can interview them.
Remember, people make the place a destination, and can make or break the guest experience!
Potential interview questions are below, if you have any suggestions, let me know by emailing me at antsoltravel@gmail.com.
- Destination Marketing Organization (DMO): Non-Profits funded by government and tourism fees to promote the jurisdiction as a place to make a destination for business & leisure guests. (Shot & published in one take)
- Distance from Anaheim if in the continental USA. If outside the US, the flight time from LAX, no international flights from SNA.
- What makes your destination attractive for leisure and/or business guests? (Blanket Question for all guest types).
- Are there any specific people, attractions, events, restaurants, history, and places that potential visitors should know about?
- If to attract meetings, how many meeting spaces do you have?
- How many hotel rooms are in the destination marketing organization’s jurisdiction? (For the city, county, and regional DMOs. Too many to count if state or country DMO, if they know off the top of their heads.)
- What places do you recommend for someone who loves photography? Are there any places with stunning vistas?
- Do we need to rent or bring a car to enjoy the destination fully? Does public transit get you to most destinations from the city center & lodging options?
- Why should a potential guest consider visiting your destination?
- Tour operator: they sell a guided tour groups with an set itinerary. (Shot & published in one take)
- What types of itineraries do you offer?
- Why should we pick your tours over the competitors with similar itineraries?
- Interviews with speakers (Each interviewee would be asked the same questions, cut to each of them as the questions go along).
- For guests at home, what can tell us about yourself & the company you operate?
- For the guests planning their vacations, what should they do to properly plan their next trip?
- If they are booking everything themselves, how much time and effort is needed for a longer vacation?
- Do you recommend travel agents/advisors? (Names are interchangeable.)
- I work in the Anaheim Resort area and there are still a handful of guests who book rooms, but they did not even check on Disneyland’s website that reservations are required, when they arrive at Anaheim they need a reservation for the parks, and they are sold out during their stay.
- In the wake of the 2020 closures, do you think travel insurance is worth it?
- If so, which companies do you recommend?
- Do you think insurance via insurance companies, travel agents, or service providers is good?
- Example: Marriott International partnered with Allizanz when you finish booking your room.
- How much coverage do you think the average guest needs for the cross-country trip and for longer trips abroad?
- What is the outlook for the hospitality, travel, and tourism industries for the foreseeable future?
- Things have improved dramatically since this time a year ago.
- Mandatory hotel fees, i.e. destination, amenity, resort fees, etc., what is your opinion?
- What can be done about it for the average guest to void it?
- I am staying at the Sheraton Grand with a $25 “destination fee” without any specifics on what it “covers”. On their website, It allegedly covers fitness classes that most guests don’t have time for or really care about doing, especially business guests. I hope that does not just cover the fitness center & pool. How should I negotiate if I don’t have time or interest in the classes? Something like that should be extra, however, more guests are apt to participate since you have to pay for it no matter what
AntSol Travel 