Santa Monica Shines At YVR Event

Supplier reps from the beach community of Santa Monica were in Vancouver recently to remind travel advisors that their town is the most convenient and welcoming place from which to explore the beach attractions of Los Angeles and beyond.

Situated just 13 km. from L.A. International Airport (LAX), Santa Monica offers easy access to California’s famous Pacific coast destinations, as well as L.A.’s own lush beaches and urban destinations. These include Beverly Hills at 10.6 km. away, West Hollywood at 19 km. distant and Universal Studios at 34 km. away.

Given its ideal location, Santa Monica has bloomed with new accommodation options, including 41 hotels, plus lots of dining and retail choices. Reps from some of these services brought product literature, images and knowledge to an event at the Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel in downtown Vancouver in early April.

For instance, Danielle Gambardella, the director of leisure sales for the Fairmont Miramar Hotel & Bungalows, told assembled travel pros that her property had celebrated its 100th year in 2021 and had also debuted renovations in that same year. She also noted that a night market would open there in May, for the third year running.

Angel De Lara-Hamel, the director of sales and business development for the Regent Santa Monica Beach, described how the Regent brand name was coming back to North America after a long absence, led by the opening of the property in Santa Monica.

The current hotel there is now closed, as a complete transformation of the property is now underway, including the conversion of 347 rooms to just under 200 much larger suites. There will also be a new onsite restaurant that will be paired with a celebrity chef when the hotel opens late in 2023.

Representing Air Canada at the event was Edna Ray, the senior manager of regional sales for AC in Vancouver. She reported that the carrier had a healthy roster of flight options for reaching Los Angeles from Canada, including four daily flights from Toronto, increasing to five in May; four daily flights from Vancouver, increasing to five in May; plus two daily flights from Montreal and one daily from Calgary.

Go to www.santamonica.com for more.

CAPTION

Danielle Gambardella, the director of leisure sales for the Fairmont Miramar Hotel & Bungalows (l.), met with Witty Lau of Wells Luxury Travel in downtown Vancouver during the recent Santa Monica tourism event in Vancouver.