News: Texas travel industry briefs

Texas Department of Transportation’s Travel Information Division is accepting host requests for the 2010 and 2011 Texas Travel Counselors Conferences.
These four-day conferences bring travel counselors — including those from TxDOT, AAA, Texas Parks and Wildlife, convention and visitors bureaus and chambers of commerce — together for classroom training and study tours of the host city and surrounding area.
“Hosting the conference allows travel counselors to gain valuable information, become more knowledgeable and speak with authority and enthusiasm about things to see and do in your area,” says Travel Services Section Director Brenda Harper.
These travel counselors are ambassadors to Texas, with TxDOT welcoming more than 3.5 million travelers annually; AAA serving more than a million Texas members; and TPWD and CVBs/chambers assisting tourists, as well. “They create an extended sales force for Texas tourism,” Harper says.
The counselors give expert advice to help visitors make the most of their trips. “The more they know about things to do and see within the state, the better they can help visitors,” Harper adds. Proposals will be accepted until Dec. 15.  
For host city requirements or other questions, please contact Elizabeth Greer at egreer@dot.state.tx.us, or Martha Martin at mmarti4@dot.state.tx.us, or call (512) 486-5800.

Honors

• Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center (Grapevine)
• Hyatt Regency DFW
• Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort and Spa (San Antonio)
• Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort and Spa (Lost Pines)
• Hyatt Regency San Antonio
• Moody Gardens Hotel, Spa and Convention Center (Galveston)
• Renaissance Worthington Hotel (Fort Worth)
• The Westin La Cantera Resort (San Antonio)

The Gold Service award, presented to CVBs that are “dedicated to meeting professionals,” was given to these communities’ CVBs:

• Austin
• Greater Houston
•  Dallas
• Irving
• Fort Worth 
• San Antonio

• Barton Creek Resort & Spa (Austin)
• Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center (Grapevine)
• Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort and Spa (San Antonio)
• Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort and Spa (Lost Pines)

The Austin Convention and Visitors Bureau received the Gold Platter for winning its 12th Gold Award, “a true indication of excellence and staying power.” The Austin CVB has received Gold Service awards since 1997.

The Dallas area hotel industry celebrated this past year’s top performers at its HOSPYs Award Gala, hosted by the Hotel Association of Greater Dallas.
“This is the night where we celebrate those who have helped make the North Texas hotel industry one of the best in the country,” says Brooke Dieterlen, executive director of the Hotel Association of Greater Dallas. “It is through their efforts, that Dallas and the North Texas area remain one of the top places to visit or hold meetings.”
Awards included:

• Green Hotel of the Year: Rosewood Crescent Hotel
• Friend of the Industry: Maura Gast, Irving Convention & Visitors Bureau
• General Manager of the Year (full service 500-plus rooms): Mark Brooks, Dallas Addison Marriot Quorum
• General Manager of the Year (full service up to 499 rooms): Mary Lavelle, Marriott Suites Dallas Market Center
• General Manager of the Year (select service): Kevin Gilbert, Hilton Garden Inn Duncanville
• Hotel of the Year (full service 500-plus rooms): Hyatt Regency Dallas at Reunion
• Hotel of the Year (full service up to 499 rooms): W-Dallas Victory
• Hotel of the Year (select service): Hilton Garden Inn Dallas/
• Lewisville
• Hotel Chef of the Year: Marcos Segovia, The Adolphus
• Allied Partner of the Year: Yellow Cab/Go Yellow Checker Shuttle
• Supervisor/Manager of the Year: Missy Forden, Springhill Suites by Marriott Dallas-Addison
• Front of the House — Employee of the Year: Joey Flores, The Ritz Carlton
• Heart of the House — Employee of the Year: Anita Woods, The Ritz Carlton

Travel News

Seven weeks to the day that Hurricane Ike struck the Texas coast, Carnival Cruise Lines ships Ecstasy and Conquest returned to The Port of Galveston to resume regular service.
“We are extremely pleased to be resuming service from the Port of Galveston and extend our congratulations and appreciation to the port and the Galveston community as a whole for enabling us to return so quickly,” says Carnival’s President and CEO Gerry Cahill.
Port Director Steven M. Cernak says, “Carnival’s advance planning and experience enabled them to swiftly relocate the ships temporarily while they continued to provide excellent passenger service. That allowed us to fast-track our repairs at the cruise terminal.”
Cernak gives much of the credit to the expeditious response from damage recovery and restoration firm Belfor USA. “They brought our terminal back to life in record time.”
Cernak adds, “We almost have a new terminal.”  
Galveston Island Convention and Visitors Bureau Public Relations Manager Roshelle Gaskins says, “Substantial progress has been made and the Island is excited to welcome back cruise passengers.” Many attractions have reopened, including all beaches, Moody Gardens and its golf course, the Texas Seaport Museum’s tall ship Elissa and Bishop’s Palace. A wide selection of hotels and entertainment venues are also open and receiving guests.
 
Following President-elect Barack Obama’s electoral victory, Travel Industry Association President and CEO Roger Dow says the travel community is uniquely positioned to help the incoming president revitalize the economy and strengthen America’s image abroad.
“America’s travel community congratulates President-elect Obama and pledges our support to the new administration as it tackles two of the most daunting challenges facing America today: improving the U.S. economy and strengthening America’s image in the international community,” Dow says. “The American economy is dependent on travel. He adds, “The industry employs one out of every eight U.S. workers, drives more than $700 billion in spending and is a major economic force in each of the 50 states. The small- and medium-sized businesses that make up more than 90 percent of America’s travel community can trigger the kind of bottom-up economic growth and job creation that will put this economy back on track.
“TIA has a positive agenda for change that includes modernizing America’s infrastructure and travel processes, creating jobs and improving the nation’s energy security,” Dow says. “We look forward to working closely with President-elect Obama to achieve these goals and build a stronger America.”

The El Paso Public Art Program recently unveiled the new Men of Company E Memorial at the Chalio Acosta Recreation Center. Local bronze artist Julio Sanchez de Alba completed the memorial in honor of a group of young Mexican-American soldiers from El Paso, who were sent, on Jan. 21, 1944, to Southern Italy on a tragic mission to cross the Rapido River.
Amidst WWII, the river was heavily fortified by the German Army, making it what some historians describe as one of the insurmountable missions in World War II. Tragically, the Men of Company E, 141st Infantry, 36th Division, whom many now refer to as the Fallen Sons of El Paso, were killed in the attempt to cross a waterway saturated with barbed wire, mines and artillery fire.
The El Paso Public Art Program, under the City of El Paso Museums and Cultural Affairs Department, funded the memorial, which has been planned since July 2007.
 

Travel Forecast

Great Outdoors

Caprock Canyons State Park and Trailway in Quitaque — home of the official Texas State Bison Herd — has launched indoor and outdoor interpretive exhibits that will help tell the park’s story.
At the 15,314-acre park’s new $1 million visitor center, which opened last year, visitors will experience four different “zones,” each with a different content focus: geology of the canyonlands, the North American bison, the ecology of the canyon lands and the story of the Trailway.
Exterior wayside signs at the bison overlook interpret the near-extermination of the North American bison during the 1800s, Charles Goodnight’s efforts to protect the animals, and the story of the Texas State Bison Herd at Caprock Canyons. The exterior exhibits include a complete overhaul of existing exhibits at the park’s outdoor Interpretive Pavilion that tell the human story of the canyonlands, revealing the lifeways of various cultural groups, including native people, Hispanics and Anglos.
For more information, visit www.tpwd.state.tx.us.

The views from inside Palo Duro Canyon State Park will remain grand thanks to the addition of a 2,912-acre property known as Fortress Cliffs Ranch. The tract acquisition, purchased by a coalition including The Trust for Public Land and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, will protect almost six miles of scenic cliffs along the park’s northeastern edge.
“We had known the ranch was on the market for some time, and we were informed that the potential of it being sold to a developer was getting stronger and stronger,” says TPWD Commissioner Mark Bivins of Amarillo.
John Watson, CEO of ranch broker Orvis/Cushman & Wakefield, wanted to find a stewardship buyer, so he contacted conservation groups, including TPL, which began exploring ways to acquire the land with TPWD. TPL ultimately purchased the property and transferred it to TPWD.
Payment for the property, appraised at $5.22 million, was made with $1.86 million from the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund, which was matched by a private, anonymous donor. The Texas Legislature, in a rider specifying the funds should be used to add land to Palo Duro Canyon State Park, appropriated another $1.5 million.
The acquisition of the site will protect an ecologically significant break, cliff face and rim rock habitat, as well as High Plains shortgrass prairie, and transitional brush and slope habitats. The Fortress Cliffs consist of banded layers of rock that represent four geologic periods spanning more than 240 million years. Fossils of long-extinct animals and plants have been found embedded in the rock layers.
“The Trust for Public Land and Texas Parks and Wildlife managed to pull off a daunting and complicated conservation achievement,” Bivins says.
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Executive Director Carter Smith says, “The rare chance to protect six miles of cliffs overlooking the ‘Grand Canyon of Texas,’ to keep that bluff looking the way the first Texans saw it –– this is unparalleled. “Palo Duro Canyon may not be near our state’s biggest cities, but I know all Texans can appreciate the significance of this acquisition for our park system. It’s for everyone alive today, and for generations to come.”

The Rio Grande within Big Bend National Park recently reached record or near record flood levels as a result of large amounts of rain in the park, but considerable progress has been made toward reopening, cleaning and re-establishing the use of visitor areas.
Currently, most or all facilities are open and available, but some facilities have temporary services in place while the permanent facilities are being repaired. This includes the campground at Rio Grande Village, where significant amounts of mud deposits are being cleaned up and removed. Some of the permanent campsites will be cleaned and re-opened in the near future, while other temporary sites have been established for visitor camping. The RV park (with hookups) in Rio Grande Village and the road to the Santa Elena Canyon boat ramp (from the east) have re-opened. Maverick Road to the canyon overlook also is open. The trail to Santa Elena Canyon and the Hot Springs Trail and road are still closed for repairs.  
Check the park’s Web site at www.nps.gov/bibe or call for the most current information.

Earlier this year, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department began hosting Texas Outdoor Family workshops at state parks in the Houston and Austin areas to give families expert instruction on how to start enjoying the world of nature and the great outdoors. This January and February, the program is expanding into South Texas.
During the overnight Texas Outdoor Family program, families spend much of the weekend learning how to pitch a tent, cook outdoors, kayak, fish, and use a global positioning system (GPS) to navigate trails and locate hidden caches. The program also teaches participants about conservation ethics and introduces them to park rangers and what they do.
Workshops are set for Jan. 10–11 at Goose Island State Park near Fulton; Jan. 24–25 at Bentsen–Rio Grande State Park near Mission; and Feb. 10–11 at Lake Casa Blanca International State Park in Laredo.
“What’s great about Texas Outdoor family workshops is no experience or camping equipment is necessary,” says Chris Holmes, Texas State Parks outdoor programs coordinator.
“We recognize that many people in today’s increasingly urban culture don’t have the same skills or backgrounds as earlier generations of Texans. These weekend workshops offer a supportive environment where families can get started in safe and comfortable settings,” he says. The South Texas workshops will have bilingual staff who speak Spanish.
Each workshop is $55 per family (up to six people), and includes a car camping site for each family, restrooms with hot showers, professional park ranger-led programs and instruction, overnight state park police officer public safety and security, a curriculum developed specifically for use and enjoyment of a state park, and state park Junior Ranger certification programs. The environmentally friendly approach adopts a “Leave No Trace” philosophy.
Families bring their own food for the two-day workshops. Suggested shopping and packing lists for meals and personal items are provided.
For more information, call (512) 389-8903, e-mail tofsp@tpwd.state.tx.us or visit www.tpwd.state.tx.us/learning/bof.

Team Approach

In order to “Build Teams in Nature,” the Heard Museum in McKinney recently opened a new ropes course featuring 14 high and low elements located in part of the Heard’s deciduous forest. The challenging elements are meant to encourage teamwork as well as individual growth, and they are available for businesses and organizations, as well as the general public.
The Heard’s newly renovated Education Annex will be used as part of the ropes course.

Industry Insiders

Shannon Overby, who has been with the Bryan/College Station Convention and Visitors Bureau for 14 years, is its new executive director, filling a position left vacant by Barry Biggar who took a new job in Virginia.
“I am honored to have been selected to lead the CVB team and excited about the opportunity to continue to work with our hospitality partners, both cities, the university and the county to expand the tourism industry in our community for many years to come,” Overby says.
CVB board Chairman Steve Moore told The Eagle newspaper, “Shannon has incredible experience here in the market. She did an exceptional job of displaying her knowledge and information on tourism and tourism trends and how that was going to affect Bryan-College Station in the coming years.”
Biggar praised the choice saying, “Her love of the destination and her passion of the profession are a combination that will ensure the success of the organization.”

The Blake-Whiddon Award was recently bestowed upon Eric Miller, Amarillo Convention and Visitor Center Director of Communications, for his excellent service and work performance. The  Central State Chapter of the Society of American Travel Writers award, which is given only when warranted, is named after travel public relations professionals Betty Blake and Elmer Whiddon.
Miller, who also serves as the treasurer of the Central States Chapter of the SATW, picked up his award at the group’s  53rd convention in Houston. He is only the second Texas to receive this honor.
“Blake’s and Whiddon’s professionalism, service and friendship are beacons today for those privileged to have known them,” says Tom Adkison, vice-president and director of communications for a Nashville advertising agency and former Blake-Whiddon winner. He adds, “Eric Miller didn’t know Betty or Elmer, but he shares their spirit.”
Amarillo CVC Director of Tourism/Film Jutta Matalka says, “All of us here are really proud of Eric. He really deserves the honor.”