PARTNERSHIP & CTA

gpsNEXT
The CVB hosted gpsNEXT: Tourism Highlights & Insights at the Omni Rancho Las Palmas in February. The half-day event gave local tourism Partners the opportunity to connect the CVB marketing Partners and included presentations covering:

• CVB marketing opportunities
• Insights from our Visit California International Reps, TripAdvisor, TravelZoo and Expedia
• Airline updates from Ailevon Pacific
• Destination Development Plan updates
• Consumer and Meeting Planner Image & Awareness Study insights

View the gpsNEXT presentation deck here.

Meet & Sees
The events for January and February included:

• The Living Desert Zoo & Gardens - January 31
• Babe's BBQ & Brewery - February 21

In January and February, the Partnership team attended the following community events:

Cathedral City
• Palm Desert Chamber ribbon cutting and 2019 Honda Passport Launch / Honda of the Desert

Rancho Mirage
• Rancho Mirage Chamber Rammy Awards / Agua Caliente Casino Resort Spa Rancho Mirage
• Champions of Change Desert Arc Annual Awards Lunch / Agua Caliente Casino Resort Spa Rancho Mirage
• Rancho Mirage Chamber Mixer / Mission Hills Country Club

Palm Springs
• Wedding Warriors Mixer / Trio Restaurant
• Desert Business Association Mixer / ACE Hotel and Swim Club
• Palm Springs Chamber & SunLine ribbon cutting for the BUZZ bus / Museum Way
• PSHA Luncheon / Avalon Hotel and Bungalows
• Palm Springs Chamber Mixer / Venezia Italian Restaurant
• Wedding Warriors Mixer / Spencer's
• Modernism Week Opening Reception / Palm Springs Convention Center
• Palm Springs Air Museum Annual Gala
• PSHA Luncheon / Hilton Palm Springs
• GCVCC and Palm Springs Chamber ribbon cutting / GR8 ESTATES Luxury Vacation Rentals

Palm Desert
• CSUSB Mardi Gras Masquerade Ball / JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort & Spa
• PDACC YPN Event / Casuelas Cafe

La Quinta
• GCVCC Desert Classic Tee Off Gala / La Quinta Country Club

Indio​
• Polo for the People / Empire Polo Club

Program Launch
The Greater Palm Springs Tourism Ambassador program officially launched in February. Accredited through the Tourism Ambassador Institute™, the Certified Tourism Ambassador™ (CTA) Program is designed to elevate the performance of our hospitality workforce, enhance the visitor experience and increase tourism in the destination.

The program is multifaceted, serving to demonstrate that when visitors have a positive experience, they are more likely to return and share their positive experience with others. The program demonstrates the vital importance of tourism and its direct impact on Greater Palm Springs when visitor expectations are exceeded. The half-day trainings provide an overview of the importance of their role in representing our destination’s brand.

A Field Test for the program took place in January and provided an opportunity to present the course material to key stakeholders, receive feedback and then make final edits to the in-class presentation as well as to the content-rich notebook that all participants receive.

The program has a goal to accredit 500 Greater Palm Springs Tourism Ambassadors in its first year. Trainings will take place at various Partner sites throughout the region to engage groups around a deep understanding of the history, highlights and resources of the destination. CTA graduates are encouraged to continue to explore and discover the destination throughout the year. To that end, CVB Partners are encouraged to offer CTAs incentives to experience their sites to better promote them to visitors. Continuing education activities and networking events are offered as a part of the program throughout the year.

The brand campaign for this exciting new program is built around the pride of setting this destination apart by offering the highest standard of visitor service as indicated by the IAmGreaterPS.com URL associated with the overall theme and mission of the program. CTAs will also be wearing the industry-recognized CTA lapel pin, indicating their commitment to a higher standard of service for this destination.