Anaheim convention business tops 1.2 million in '08
Visitor & Convention Bureau reports more attendees at conventions compared to past 2 years.

Conventions bring cash in but they need it, too
KEARNEY ? Not too long ago, Roger Jasnoch says, you could impress meeting and tradeshow planners with a few perks.

Redskins Branding Plan Gets Nod From Ad Hoc Committee
Loudoun County's potential to partner with the Washington Redskins has another chance after the ad hoc committee formed to vet the marketing proposal turned out a unanimous vote to recommend approval.

Geekathon potlucks unite computer herd
Jessica Machado/Special to the OregonianIgal Koshevoy, (from left) Audrey Eschright, Peter Eschright, Leif Warner and Mark Gross exchange ideas at the coders' social. Because much of the programming work in Portland is of the freelance or consulting nature, gatherings are...

Tampa Conventions Business Gets Major August Commitment
The city's meetings and conventions business will get a boost in August with a commitment from the Women of Faith group to bring its Grand New Day Conference Tour to the St. Pete Times Forum. The conference will draw about 15,000 attendees, according to a release by Tampa Bay & Co., which markets the visitors industry for Hillsborough County.

Hawaii marketing to Korea put on hold
The Hawaii Tourism Authority has decided to spend more money to market in Japan and North America while putting on hold funds directed toward South Korea.

2007 Chick-fil-A Bowl brought in $12 million
The college football season is set to end Thursday night, and Chick-fil-A Bowl President Gary Stokan is in Miami ready to attend the title game. Sure, he gets a chance to watch one last gridiron contest, and being in Florida in January isn't bad, either. But Stokan said his mission is to see how officials there put on the game and if there's anything the Chick-fil-A organizers might emulate. ...

Hotel Spas in the U.S: The Potential to Be Buoyant in 2009, However, Not Invincible | By Bruce Baltin
Spas continued to contribute to the top and bottom lines of U.S. hotels in 2007. Total spa department revenue increased 5.0 percent from 2006 to 2007, while spa department profits grew 5.8 percent. These are among the findings reported in PKF Consulting?s (PKF-C) recently released 2008 edition of Trends in the Hotel Spa Industry, a report that examines the revenue, expenses, and profits of ...

Planned TIF raises concerns
Editors? note The City Council?s decision on the proposed development downtown was too late for this week?s edition and for complete coverage, check online at www.nlrtimes.com and next week?s paper.

Debate surrounds community center plans
The political saga of the Lompoc Valley Senior and Community Center added a new chapter this week, as City Councilwoman Cecilia Martner proposed a study of whether a change to the building?s floor plan might make it more cost-effective for the city to operate.

Making it big in India and Taiwan
India?s first and largest producer of news, current affairs and entertainment television, New Delhi Television Limited (NDTV), was in the country to shoot its several top travel shows, Confessions of a Travel Bag, Shopaholic and No Big Deal.

Cash needed to lure doctor to Dundalk, mayor says
Southgate Mayor Don Lewis said it?s time for council to start offering financial incentives if it?s serious about attracting a doctor to Dundalk. ?We may [...]

New Orleans visitors' bureau optimistic about '09
NEW ORLEANS - A spokeswoman for the New Orleans Convention and Visitors' Bureau is optimistic about 2009 but says officials early in the year will be watching whether the national recession affects tourism numbers.

Umstead Hotel & Spa Selects IDeaS Revenue Optimization to Enhance Revenue and Profit
IDeaS Revenue Optimization, the leading provider of hospitality revenue management and optimization solutions and services, today announced that The Umstead Hotel & Spa, recipient of a 2008 AAA "Five Diamond Award", selected its IDeaS V5i pricing and revenue management solution to optimize revenue and profit. IDeaS V5i will provide forecasting, optimization and pricing solutions as an on-demand ...

Hospitality tax amendments proposed
City officials have been getting an earful about plans to ask voters to extend the 2 percent hospitality tax and in response plan to amend the ordinance that would place the measure on the ballot.

Lawyers at odds over guidelines for Mulroney-Schreiber inquiry
Lawyers for Brian Mulroney and Karlheinz Schreiber were poised to lay out dramatically different arguments Wednesday about what ethics rules and guides should be applied when exploring a series of cash transactions between the former prime minister and the German-born lobbyist

Nevada tourism chair defends China mission, ad campaign 'We went to China to work, not play'
CARSON CITY, Nev. - A 10-day tourism-building mission that Lieutenant Governor Brian K. Krolicki led to China last June involved morning-until-night meetings with influential Chinese officials and journalists, Krolicki said Friday, refuting criticism by Governor Jim Gibbons.

Convention Complex to open with fanfare
JACKSON ? The highly anticipated opening of the new Jackson Convention Complex is finally at hand.

Convention bureau support pays off, city told
Now is not the time to cut funding to programs and organizations that are working to bring tourists to town, says the Yukon Convention Bureau's managing director.

High-speed rail, battling crime among mayor's priorities
Promoting a high-speed passenger rail link to Rochester and addressing the issue of local "hate crimes" are two of Mayor Ardell Brede's priorities for the