Last December four of the top United Kingdom ski journalists were in Oregon with the largest ski tour operator in the U.K., Ski Dream. Unfortunately on their visit, there was NO SNOW!

It turns out that the trip was still a success as Oregon has created quite a buzz in the UK.

The Times newspaper recently ran an article by Belinda Archer titled: Oregon outshines its rivals in US ski stakes.

Click here to read the complete article which features Mount Hood and Mount Bachelor

The Times newspaper also produces a yearly ski supplement that runs in mid-September which is included in the main newspaper. Oregon had the center spread! The daily circulation of The Times is 800,000.

Ski Dream currently sells Timberline Lodge/Mt. Hood and Sunriver Resort/Mt Bachelor exclusively (Travel Oregon is hoping to grow their product, but this is a start). Travel Oregon and its partners happened to be in the Ski Dream office in London the Monday following the ski insert. First thing that morning there had already been numerous calls inquiring about ski packages to Oregon.

Exciting news as the weather changes...

The National Council of State Tourism Directors (NCSTD) honored Travel Oregon's International and Domestic Travel Trade with their first Mercury Award: Best State Tourism International Marketing, for the "Summer of Fun in Oregon" campaign.

The "Summer of Fun in Oregon" promotion was designed (in conjunction with E-Home Holidays, a Canadian tour operator) to inspire consumers who would normally travel to Oregon for tax-free shopping to book a new itinerary and discover new experiences. Lisa Itel, Travel Oregon's Travel Trade Manager, The Americas, spearheaded the project.

The total cost of the "Summer of Fun in Oregon" promotion was $4,500 and resulted in a 114-percent increase in visits to Oregon over the previous year, generating approximately $647,136 in direct visitor spending for the State of Oregon.

"We are honored to be recognized for our innovative international marketing," said Teresa O’Neill, Travel Oregon's Director, International Sales and Marketing. "And we succeeded in our goal of luring travelers from Vancouver, B.C. With the program, those who might have visited for tax-free shopping discovered it was easy to find their way to other Oregon treasures."

With its Mercury Awards, the U.S. Travel Association recognizes state and territory tourism offices for excellence and creative accomplishment in travel marketing and promotion. Winning programs serve as models to foster imagination and innovation in the development of future destination programs.

To view tours available from E-Home Holidays, go to: http://www.ehomeholidays.com/

Southeast Oregon was highlighted in an article submitted by Travel Oregon's Travel Trade The Americas Manager Lisa Itel in the September issue of Courier Magazine.

Courier is the main travel trade publication for the National Tour Association.

The article, titled "Looking at Barns in Southeast Oregon" showcases the Harney County area including the Peter French Barn Tour outside of Burns.

Click here to read the complete article which appears on page 80 of the online publication

The Oregon Technical Tour Directory is a key tool in packaged travel and in the Asia market. Travel Oregon is now in the process of preparing the 2009-2010 online edition. Your assistance is needed in order to market your product in this FREE directory.

In the past, the technical tour directory was provided in a printed document with limited offerings. The distribution request has been expanded to larger categories in order to provide a more comprehensive document.

By having an online directory, the document can be updated on a more regular basis. Naturally, no one knows your product or area as well as you do, and we want to be sure that your technical tour and similar opportunities in your area are included in the new edition.

Please contact Chris Chester at 503.378.8865 or chris@traveloregon.com to receive the form to fill out your information.

The deadline for submission is Friday, August 28, 2009, but because this is an online directory entries will be accepted beyond the deadline.

Here is a guide to determine whether or not your organization qualifies:
What is a technical tour?
A technical tour is an organized visit to a business, service, or agency by people (usually in groups) who are interested in observing HOW a process or product is created or how a service is provided. Tours that educate a person e.g., on how musical instruments are made, how potato chips are made, how a call center works, how a recycling program is successfully carried out. The behind the scenes details comprise technical tours. For example, in a winery tour, a technical tour would take the visitor behind the scenes to see the actual process of creating the wine, not the wine tasting.

A technical tour is not:
A social, recreational, or attraction-type experience. For example, a "rafting tour" or "bird watching tour" is not a technical tour as it has no product or process is involved. However, learning about how a river guide prepares for a rafting trip could be a technical tour. A tour through a zoo would not be a technical tour but meeting with zoo staff and seeing what they do behind the scenes would be a technical tour. Going on a tour of wind turbine locations would not be a technical tour but learning how they are installed and how they operate would be a technical tour.

Check out the video below as the Oregon NTA delegation gets the motor coach ready for their trip to Reno, NV and the NTA Annual Convention:

Click here to view the latest travel blog entry

On November 11, the delegation will board their OC&W motor coach and blog live from the road as they travel to Reno, picking up the entire delegation of NTA supliers and DMO's along the way.