Press Release
March 29, 2001
SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- Travel enthusiasts are invited to attend the inaugural Golden Gate Travel Exposition, slated
to be the San Francisco Bay Area's largest showcase of travel and leisure opportunities when it's held Saturday,
April 7, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., and Sunday, April 8, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., at the San Mateo Expo Center.
Exhibitors participating in the expo will represent domestic and international hotels, attractions, Bay Area travel
agencies, wineries (featuring wine tasting 12-4 p.m., both days), leisure activities, destinations, foreign tourism
offices, airlines, casinos, visitor bureaus, tour operators and cruise lines, among other categories.
Admission is $6.50 for adults (children under 12 years are free).
The trade show -- sponsored by Aloha Airlines, Apple Vacations, Mollie Stone's, Abbey Carpets, KOIT 96.5, KFRC,
KABL 960 AM, KDFC 102.1 and KISS 98.1 FM radio stations, and the San Mateo County Times/ANG Newspapers -- is being
produced by Ventura, Calif.-based Comstock Ranch Co. which is responsible for organizing the annual Aloha State
Travel Expo for Hawaii's often overlooked 1.3 million residents.
An estimated 400-600 active travel agents are expected for a free industry-only tradeshow on Friday, April 6, 4-8
p.m., where they can win valuable prizes, including $1,000 in cash, and meet one-on-one with suppliers to gather
information, learn about incentive programs and package tours, etc.
On Saturday and Sunday, the public will be able to meet dozens of industry representatives, get advice and have
their specific questions answered, learn about travel bargains, attend informative seminars, enjoy live entertainment
and wine tasting (to benefit Samaritan House, a nonprofit human services organization in San Mateo County), have
their photo taken with a real Royal Canadian Mountie, and more.
In addition to registering to win thousands of dollars' worth of vacation trips and prizes, attendees will be able
to enter at the door to win a guaranteed cash prize of $2,000 for their next vacation. A highlight of the expo's
many prize giveaways is a 14-day Masai Safari for two (air included from San Francisco) in Kenya, courtesy of Somak
Safaris (www.SomakSafaris.com) with a value of more than $10,000!
With many more prizes to be announced, here's an early listing of other giveaways that expo attendees can win:
Referring to the National Demographics & Lifestyles 1995 Market Analyst survey of 9.6 million households,
the Comstock Ranch's marketing director Stephen Hartmann said residents of the Bay Area make up the leading market
nationally for pleasure/vacation travel.
He agrees with industry experts who feel the Golden Gate Travel Exposition will be eagerly welcomed by the thousands
of travel enthusiasts among the 4.57 million residents of San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara and Alameda counties.
Citing the same survey, Hartmann said: ``The Bay Area is one of the only metropolitan giants in the United States
without its own travel show, despite the fact that among the nation's 211 designated market areas, residents of
San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose are ranked first for foreign travel, fourth for being frequent flyers and seventh
for business travel. That's why potential exhibitors are telling us this show is long overdue.''
For more information, visit www.YourTravelExpo.com.
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Contact:
Comstock Ranch Co.
Stephen Hartmann, 888/648-4021