For Immediate Release: Oct. 22, 2012

Stepping on Uneven Ground:
2012 Southern California Visitor Industry Outlook Conference:
Oct. 29, Omni Hotel, Los Angeles

With the election, the uneven recovery and other uncertainty, the economy is like a vapor you can almost see: It vanishes only to reappear again somewhere else in a slightly altered form.How should the travel industry navigate these challenges in 2013?

Please join us at the 24th Annual Southern California Visitor Industry Outlook Conference and hear from noted experts representing a range of travel sectors as they offer their best assessments of the economic situation and how it may affect Southern California’s tourism industry. The event will take place on Monday, Oct. 29 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Omni Hotel in Los Angeles.

Attendees will enjoy a full day of panel discussions from industry experts and receive PKF Consulting USA’s extensive lodging forecast report with detailed analyses of markets throughout Southern California. These markets include: Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, Santa Barbara, Ventura, San Luis Obispo and Kern counties as well as the Inland Empire and Coachella Valley. The event includes a networking lunch and a presentation by Ted Tanner, executive vice president of AEG, who will discuss downtown Los Angeles projects.

Cal Poly Pomona’s Collins College of Hospitality Management and PKF Consulting are partnering to present the conference.

Panelists and speakers will include:

  • Mindy Abel, Senior Vice President of Convention Sales, Anaheim/Orange County Visitor & Convention Bureau
  • Don Anderson, Director, Center for Entertainment and Tourism Communications, Cal State Fullerton
  • Brittany Baldwin, Director of Business Development, Destinations STR
  • Bruce Baltin, Conference Chair and Senior Vice President, PKF Consulting
  • Brandon Feighner, Vice President, PKF Consulting
  • Andrew Hale Feinstein, Dean, The Collins College of Hospitality Management
  • Skip Hull, Vice President, CIC Research Inc.
  • Kerri Kapich, Senior Vice President of Marketing, San Diego Convention & Visitors Bureau
  • Misti Kerns, Santa Monica Convention & Visitors Bureau
  • Wendy Kheel, Vice President of Consumer Insights, Los Angeles Tourism and Convention Board
  • Jeff Lugosi, Senior Vice President, PKF Consulting
  • Dan Mishell, Research Director, California Travel & Tourism Commission
  • Kimberly Ritter-Martinez, Associate Economist, Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation
  • Lauren Schlau, Senior Vice President, Horizon Consumer Science
  • Mark Van Stekelenburg, Vice President, PKF Consulting

For more information and to purchase tickets, visit http://www.csupomona.edu/~vioc/.

Media are welcome to attend the conference for free. They may also have a copy of the forecast report upon request. Please contact Lisa McPheron, director of communications and external relations at The Collins College, at (909) 869-3151 or lcmcpheron@csupomona.edu for more information.

 

 

Contact:

Lisa McPheron
Director of Communications and External Relations
The Collins College of Hospitality Management
(909) 869-3151 or lcmcpheron@
csupomona.edu