Vacation.com- Las Vegas, NV, June 17-20, 2009

Vacation.com® is one of the leading leisure travel marketing organizations serving a network of more than 5,100 travel agency locations throughout the U.S. and Canada. Travel 2 was a sponsor this year and Tahiti Tourisme North America (TTNA) was pleased to partner with them for this event.

Emma Horne and Sherry Hays, both sales representatives of Stella Travel Services' Travel2, were in attendance along with Leila Laille from TTNA. The first day included a tradeshow format with steady traffic, while the second day was focused on travel agent training.

During this event, Travel2 and TTNA gave presentations to about 50 agents. Travel2 introduced the history of the company and gave an update on their product line and marketing campaign. TTNA gave a 30-minute presentation about Tahiti and Her Islands with an emphasis on the  Tiare Specialist program.

Incentive Travel Exchange Las Vegas, NV, June 22-24, 2009

A premier event for buyers and sellers of incentive travel, the 4th annual Incentive Travel Exchange once again brought together pre-qualified hosted buyers and hand selected sellers of incentive travel for two days of networking and pre-arranged one-to-one meetings.

For the second year, TTNA and Air Tahiti Nui participated in this annual appointment-based show, which was once again hosted at THEhotel at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. This show presents an ideal format for one-on-one discussions and the opportunity to acquire pre-qualified leads for potential future business.

We are very pleased to say that 85 buyers and 98 supplier companies attended this year’s show. In addition, we had brochure support from Hilton Hotels, Legends Resort Moorea, Le Méridien Hotels, Paul Gauguin Cruises, Radisson Plaza Resort Tahiti and SPM Hotels, Resorts & Spa. Fiji and Australia were the only other South Pacific destinations represented.

IT&ME/The Motivation Show Chicago, IL, Sept. 29 – Oct. 1, 2009

Held in Chicago at the McCormick Place Convention Center, The Motivation Show is considered to be the largest show in the U.S. for the meeting and incentive market.

As all tradeshows are experiencing, the level of attendance and number of exhibitors were down due to the current economic climate.

TTNA was fortunate to have an excellent booth location and participating partners reported quality leads for future business.

Despite the low attendance, all but one of the participating partners indicated they would return to participate in the 2010 show.

Along with TTNA, this year’s participating partners included Air Tahiti Nui, Hilton Hotels French Polynesia, InterContinental French Polynesia, Sofitel Luxury Hotels French Polynesia, SPM Hotels, Resorts & Spa, Tahiti Nui Travel and Tahiti Tours.

Paul Gauguin Cruises - Incentive Seminar Southern CA, October 8 and 29, 2009

Two Paul Gauguin Cruises seminars were held to specifically address the incentive market and update the industry on its recent acquisition. Representatives of key incentive companies in Southern California attended events held in La Jolla and Newport Beach.

The Oct. 8th event, attended by 12 incentive planners, was held at the George’s At The Cove restaurant in La Jolla. During the course of the event, Michael Beale, former VP Charter & Incentive Sales, Paul Gauguin Cruises, gave an informative presentation.

The Oct. 29th event was held in Newport Beach, aboard a Hornblower yacht and included an intimate group of 9 incentive planners. A presentation delivered by Maggie Mantia, Sr. VP Charter & Incentive Sales for David Morris International for PG Cruises. Both events were co-hosted by Paul Gauguin Cruises, InterContinental French Polynesia, Air Tahiti Nui and TTNA.

Paul Gauguin Cruises - Meet the New Team! Newport Beach, CA, October 8, 2009

Paul Gauguin Cruises, operator of the Paul Gauguin, the highest-rated luxury cruise ship in the South Pacific, announced a few months ago, its acquisition by Pacific Beachcomber, one of the leading luxury hotel operators in Tahiti. Pacific Beachcomber’s portfolio includes the InterContinental Resorts on the islands of Tahiti, Bora Bora and Moorea.

To celebrate the news and introduce the new sales team, Christine Anderson - Vice President of National Accounts and Director of South West, and Joyce Simmons – Vice President International Sales and Director of Sales Northwest Region - invited their travel agent accounts and preferred suppliers to join them for a luncheon.

They shared with the audience their exciting programs and unprecedented value offers. The event gathered an estimated 44 agents. A product presentation was conducted by Joyce Simmons, following short introductions from Anna Vo and Jessica Smith with Tahiti Legends, Debbie Boyle with Air Tahiti Nui and Leila Laille with Tahiti Tourisme North America.

Paul Gauguin Cruises - Travel Agent Seminar Redondo Beach, CA, October 13, 2009

TTNA and Air Tahiti Nui participated in Paul Gauguin Cruises dinner seminar in Redondo Beach, an event fully dedicated to travel agents. A presentation was given by Christine Anderson (Director of the Southwestern Region and VP, National Accounts) and Joyce Simon (Director the Northwestern Region and VP International Sales) to update the industry on the ship’s recent purchase, new owner and current incentive projects meant to stimulate bookings. We are glad to say that the event was well attended by 40 travel agents.

French Affairs New York, NY, October 25-26, 2009

French Affairs is hosted by Atout France and consists of a two-day meeting between French suppliers, U.S. tour operators and vendors selling France as a travel destination.

Launched in 2003, the annual French Affairs has attracted over 100 U.S. tour operators each year, and is considered a "must" in the travel industry.

This year, 96 exhibitors represented from 59 companies, 128 tour operators from 90 companies and 34 industry-related visitors joined Atout France in New York. Al Keahi and Leila Laille from Tahiti Tourisme North America represented the Islands of Tahiti.

On October 25th, the event began with a networking cocktail reception sponsored by CRT Aquitaine. The session consisted of ’wine oenology’, which is related to the science and study of winemaking. Then all participants attended the opening session to discuss the 2009 annual report and 2010 new developments programs of Atout France, conducted by Jean Philippe Perol – Director of The Americas. Following Perol’s discussion, the audience was given presentations by Air France and Delta Airlines.

The overall session focused on different panel discussions, during which Leila Laille with Tahiti Tourisme was invited to discuss the Travel Agent Certification Program.

The evening continued with one of the most anticipated moments of the French Affairs, the French Awards Ceremony during which Atout France highlights the success of its most deserving Tour Operator Partners with 7 tourism awards. Tahiti Legends, represented by its president, M. Alain Bernard, won the award for the ‘Best Overseas Offer'.

French Affairs is more than just an awards ceremony. It provides an opportunity to discuss various projects and new initiatives to prepare for 2010. During the evening, Atout France honored a special award to Louis Marie Garnier. Louis Garnier is a veteran in the French travel and tourism industry.

On Monday October 26th, all suppliers were split into three different workshops: Let’s go Green! Responsible Tourism, Marketing Tahiti sponsored by Tahiti Tourisme and Air Tahiti Nui, and Social Media Networking. The Tahiti session was attended by approximately 25 guests and conducted by Al Keahi and Nick Panza and mostly covered the market’s current state, advertising campaigns, on-going programs and initiatives for 2010.

After the three workshops, all participants were invited to gather in one meeting room for a tradeshow followed by ongoing appointments. Merehani Parker representing Tahiti Nui Travel, Nick Panza and Nancy O’Connell for Air Tahiti Nui, and Raphael Bernard and Bambi Bryant of Accor Hotel Group, were also in attendance to represent French Polynesia.

Several wholesalers and travel agents visited Tahiti Tourisme North America to request further information and express their interest in selling the destination.

Congratulations to Jean-Philipe Perol and his team at Atout France for another successful event!

DEMA Orlando, FL, November 4- 7, 2009

Tahiti Tourisme North America along with Bernard Begliomini representing GIE Tahiti Tourisme, and Nancy O’Connell from Air Tahiti Nui participated in the Diving Equipment & Marketing Association Show (DEMA) in Orlando, Florida.

The 4-day show opened on November 4, 2009 and welcomed a projected 10,000 dive and travel industry professionals.

DEMA is the world's premier trade exhibition for the scuba diving, snorkeling, ocean sports and adventure/dive travel industries with more than 700 exhibitors that spanned over 185,000 square feet of the Orange County Convention Center, FL.

The show also offers one of the most extensive educational programs in the industry. Visitors consisted of diving retailers, dive operators, boat/live-aboard operators, divemasters and instructors, dive training agencies, environmental organizations, travel agents, and cruise ship operators.

Both visitors and exhibitors came from all over the  world. The Tahiti booth was once again located in the South Pacific Pavilion along with 7 other South Pacific destinations.

Our booth experienced a fairly steady flow of traffic with the exception of the last hour of the tradeshow , which all exhibitors at the show reported. Many booth visitors had already been diving in Tahiti and couldn’t wait to go back.

Unfortunately, we did not have any dive centers that participated in the show. There were many inquiries regarding liveaboards and the Tuamotu atolls, especially Rangiroa.

DEMA 2010 will be held in Las Vegas, Nevada from November 17 – 20, 2010.

MAST Oakbrook, IL, November 17, 2009

The MAST Travel Network organization, founded in 1969, is the Midwest’s premier travel agency consortium and has a dominant presence in the Midwest region. It includes more than 180 agency locations, in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Wisconsin and Ontario, Canada.

On November 17th, approximately 280 member agents and over 70 suppliers attended the event, which was the largest turnout they have experienced to date. The event’s theme was named “Top of Your Game”, and TTNA/ATN engaged the agents in a “Jeopardy-style” game that tested their knowledge of the airline and the destination in a competitive yet fun manner.

Tahiti Tourisme gave away an IIYL Tahiti Trip prize (7 night/8 day Tahiti, Moorea and Bora Bora) during the dinner, which was a big hit. MAST was very appreciative of the prize and our attendance.

Other participating Tahiti partners at the event were: Classic Vacations, Travel Impressions and Down Under Answers. A number of agents stopped by our table to offer positive comments about the destination, from both personal experience and feedback from their clients who have traveled to Tahiti.

Classic Vacations Reservation Department Training, December 12, 2009

TTNA had the opportunity to attend Classic Vacations Reservation Department Training on December 12, 2009 in their San Jose office.

The event was an excellent opportunity to educate and train Classic Reservation Agents and Customer Service Staff on product and our destination. In addition, Classic Marketing, Sales and Product Development and Top Travel Agents Accounts personnel were in attendance.

The full-day training included 3 to 4 agents with 10-minute rotations in a tradeshow format. Approximately 85 staff members and 7 Tahiti Suppliers participated in this training session, including Bora Bora Lagoon Resort & Spa, Four Seasons Resort Bora Bora, InterContinental Resort French Polynesia, Hilton Hotels French Polynesia, Le Meridien, South Pacific Management, and St Regis Resort Bora Bora.

L.A. Times Travel Show / Adventures in Travel Show February 13 & 14, 2010
Los Angeles Convention Center - Los Angeles, CA

The LA Times Show is the largest travel show in the western region of the US http://www.latimes.com/extras/travelshow/

N.Y. Times Travel Show February 26-28, 2010
Jacob K. Javits Convention Center - New York, NY

The New York Times Travel Show allows visitors to discover every corner of the globe through hundreds of booths featuring domestic and international destinations, resorts, hotels and adventures. It is the largest travel trade and consumer show in the United States. http://www.nyttravelshow.com/

The Seatrade Cruise Shipping Convention March 15- 18, 2010
Miami, FL

The international exhibition & conference serving the cruise industry The event provides the opportunity to meet suppliers and buyers and learn more on innovative and targeted marketing to promote your business.
http://www.cruiseshippingmiami.com/

Tahiti Tourisme Workshops for Retail Travel Agents
May 3-6, May 11-13 and May 18-20, 2010

The entire month of May is fully dedicated to TTNA’s workshop series. Each Spring TTNA hits the road visiting many cities across the United States and Canada bringing an in-depth and in-person method of reaching qualified travel agents through our workshop series.

The purpose of these workshops is to attract qualified travel agents who are not yet selling our destination and need more knowledge and selling tools, travel agents who are selling Tahiti and her islands, but are not yet enrolled in the Tiare Specialist Program, and Tiare agents who are already selling Tahiti, but wish to get updates on new products and renew their knowledge and momentum of selling our islands.

Our workshops are conducted by TTNA with the involvement of our opt-in partners' representatives from the tour operators, hotels, cruise lines, and airlines.

Scuba Show May 15 & 16, 2010
Long Beach Convention Center - Long Beach, CA

The scuba Show will host over 200 exhibitors featuring new and revolutionary dive gear, dive travel representatives and scuba experts. This is the largest consumer dive expo in the U.S. http://scubashow.com/

Incentive Travel Exchange (ITE) June 14 – 16, 2010
THEhotel at Mandalay Bay - Las Vegas, NV

A premier event for buyers and sellers of incentive travel, ITE brings together pre-qualified hosted buyers and hand selected sellers of incentive travel for two days of networking and pre-arranged one-to-one meetings.
http://www.incentivetravelexchange.com/

Vacation.com Conference & Trade Show June 27- July 1, 2010
Las Vegas, NV

The annual conference & trade show provides in-depth travel information and hands-on training for the member agents of the Vacation.com
http://www.conference.joinvacation.com/