WHY IT RATES: Visitors to the Santa Monica Pier got a taste of the Sichuan province when tourism representatives brought the "More Than Pandas" campaign to the city. -Janeen Christoff, TravelPulse Senior Writer
In 2017, the nonstop flight between Chengdu and Los Angeles came into service, and the distance between the two cities on different sides of the ocean was shortened to 13 hours. Both places are rich in tourism resources and their explorations and expansions in tourist source markets also continue to deepen.
On June 30, the 2018 "More than Pandas" tourism promo campaign came to the city of Los Angeles along with a glimpse at Sichuan's unique cultural and tourism resources as represented by ambassador, the giant panda.
At the Santa Monica pier, significant as the site of the last road sign for the historic US Route 66, on-site tourists and local citizens alike actively participated in the event and donned the blank panda figurines in their own colors and designs.
With paintbrushes in hand, they incorporated their concepts, understanding and imagination of panda culture, and came up with creative pieces one after another, many of which received many "likes" on social media.
Many attendees vied for a photo with the chubby giant panda, while also reaching out for promo materials on Sichuan tourism in order to obtain more thorough knowledge about the local characteristics and customs of Sichuan Province.
This edition of the tourism promo event, the black-and-white and irresistibly adorable panda costumed mascot, awe-inspiringly creative and vividly colorful giant panda paintings, uniquely charming and meticulously planned Sichuan travel routes successfully instigated a sweeping wave of "panda fever" in Santa Monica, itself a famous destination named by National Geographic magazine as one of the world's top beach cities.
During the span of the promotional event, the Sichuan tourism marketing and sales delegation visited local travel agencies Champion Holiday International Inc. and TTS USA Traveling Co., Ltd., and the two sides discussed recent updates on inbound tourism while also recommending inbound tourism routes.
At the same time, the Sichuan delegates had an extensive meeting with Todd Mitsuhata, the manager of Asia Pacific and Latin America at Santa Monica Travel and Tourism, during which the Chinese visitors introduced Sichuan's tourism development conditions, resources and regional position advantages, as well as the promising future in the Chinese province.
The deputy director of the Sichuan Provincial Tourism Development Committee Ren Youyong represented the Sichuan tourism promo delegation in inviting Santa Monica tourism industry participants to Sichuan for a visit and inspection.
Mitsuhata indicated that representatives of Santa Monica Travel and Tourism will visit Sichuan in the second half of this year or early next year with the aim of cementing cooperation and joint development.
SOURCE: Sichuan Tourism Administration press release
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