NTA will take Contact to San Diego in 2012 and build on the success of its tour operator-exclusive event in Rhode Island. The three-day conference, set for August 16–18, 2012, will bring travel professionals together in one of California’s most inviting and scenic settings.

“If you haven’t been to San Diego in the last few years, you don’t know what you’ve been missing,” said Benjamin Eastman, travel trade development manager of the San Diego Convention&Visitors Bureau, “San Diego’s friendly atmosphere makes it the ideal place for Contact because it’s such a casual and relaxed conference.”

“Contact is a tour operator education conference, where they can gain timely information and explore new business opportunities,” said Lisa Simon, CTP, NTA president, “We’ll see a tremendous exchange of ideas and business cards, but there are also Fam trips, sightseeing tours, and social events at local landmarks. San Diego is the perfect host city to follow the success of Rhode Island.”

The inaugural Contact, held in August in Newport, Rhode Island, allowed tour operators to conduct business appointments and join one of three professional development tracks: CEO/owner, sales/marketing, or operations/product development. And when attendees took a look at Rhode Island’s tour product, the experience became a windfall for the state’s tourism department.

“Contact was the best sales call of the decade for Rhode Island,” said Mark Brodeur, Director of Tourism for the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation, “I reached dozens of NTA tour operators who now want to put Rhode Island in their regular packages. When we look at the product that will be bought and sold because of Contact, Rhode Island is looking at millions of dollars.”

The Newport conference also proved popular with attendees. NTA routinely gathers feedback on its events, and tour operators gave Contact a rating of 9.1 on a 10-point scale.

Eastman said that Rhode Island set the bar high for host cities, but San Diego is up for the challenge in 2012, stating, “Attendees will be able to enjoy the perfect blend of business meetings, networking and fun while in San Diego.”

City.Mobi

Also in US today, City.Mobi is celebrating the success of its new guide to San Diego.

City.Mobi offers the most comprehensive mobile travel guides available, with over 800 cities in 200 countries listed. Each is developed by the City.Mobi team to combine into a single global travel directory.

However, each city retains its own mobile identity via a dedicated domain. Already on offer are Brussels.Mobi, Paris.Mobi, Sanfrancisco.Mobi and Sydney.Mobi.

SanDiego.mobi is the latest in this illustrious line up, offering click to call functionality – which means no scribbling down telephone numbers.

Most entries are also linked to websites where users can quickly access more detailed information if needed.

Other key features include information on accommodation, restaurants, attractions, entertainment, nightlife, shopping, and transport.

City.Mobi guides include user reviews and traveller utilities such as a translation guide, currency converter, news and local weather guide.