Rosalyn Hunter, Texas Tourism representative in Canada
Celia Moralez, Visit Houston
Sean Doerre, Fredericksburg CVB
Sana Keller, Visit San Antonio
Tina’s excited about her temporary media accreditation
Representatives from Texas Tourism, Visit Houston, Visit San Antonio, Lubbock CVB and Fredericksburg CVB gathered in downtown Toronto last week to share information and updates about what’s new and notable in the Lone Star State.
Highlighting the wide array of vacation options available to visitors – from vineyards and breweries to cruising, golf and spa – along with how easy it is to get there and the value for your vacation dollar once you do, it then comes as no surprise that Canada remains the second largest source of international visitor arrivals to the state.
“The 2017 numbers are out in the next week or two, but for 2016 we ended the year with 498,500 Canadians going to Texas, just shy of the half a million mark. It just shows the growing interest in Texas, and Canadians really do love the state,” said Rosalyn Hunter, a representative for Texas in Canada.
Of course, as is the case with many destinations these days, it’s hard to talk about Texas without also recalling the impact Hurricane Harvey had when it made landfall there last August “directly impacting some of our smaller communities on the Gulf Coast and also the flooding in Houston,” said Hunter.
In 2016, Houston welcomed more than 180,000 Canadians to the city, and while the 2017 numbers will certainly be affected by Harvey, Celia Moralez, Senior Manager of International Media Relations for Visit Houston, said that the hotels themselves were “minimally” impacted with “most everyone open the week after.”
In other Texas news, San Antonio is celebrating its Tricentennial this year with events, activities and initiatives going on all year long. And at the end of March, celebrations surrounding the 40th anniversary of the iconic TV series ‘Dallas’ will be happening in its namesake city. In Lubbock, construction is ongoing on the Buddy Holly Hall of Performing Arts and Sciences, a US$150 million complex that is set to open its doors in early 2020, becoming the cultural hub of the city and the cornerstone of its downtown revitalization.
Tina the Travel Agent joins the Texas delegation
Kerry Sharpe Columnist
Having worked in travel for the last 16 years, Kerry has experience covering the industry as media, as well as being under its lens when she worked for Thomas Cook, TravelBrands and itravel2000. A new mom, Kerry recently returned to the workforce and when she’s not chasing after her daughter, you’ll see her out and about covering industry events alongside her new BFF Tina the Travel Agent.
