California Travel Association Launches New 'Advocacy Army' Member Benefit

Member employees can now participate in "Desktop Advocacy" program

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Feb. 25, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- California Travel Association (CalTravel) has announced a new member benefit that provides employees of member organizations a new process to communicate with California's elected officials on issues that impact the state's travel and tourism industry.

Titled the 'Advocacy Army' program, CalTravel Members can now enroll their employees in a program that will allow them to send customized messages to policymakers requesting their support or opposition to pending legislation. All messages include the signature line and email address of the sender and only takes a few minutes.

"When we need to directly advocate to our elected officials, enrolled employees of tourism businesses will receive a customized email that can be forwarded to their local official," said CalTravel President & CEO John Severini. "It takes only a couple of minutes. The employee just clicks the message and an email with their signature will be automatically sent to their elected official. Employers can enroll in this program by forwarding their employee list to CalTravel. Employees can also be added and deleted at any time at the request of the employer."

"I am proud to say we had 100% participation from my staff who all understood the importance of being part of the advocacy army," said Alan Suchodolski, President & CEO, aResTravel in San Diego. "One of my employees mentioned she was happy to take a few minutes to support our industry to have her voice heard and know it can help make a difference."

The new program will be featured during the General Session of CalTravel's 2013 California Travel Summit, March 18-20, at the Sheraton San Diego Hotel and Marina.

For online registration and full information about the Summit, visit www.caltravel.org. 

About the California Travel Summit

The California Travel Summit is critically important for travel, tourism and hospitality professionals who seek to remain current with industry trends and state legislative issues impacting the State of California. In the past 30 years, CTS has earned a reputation for featuring highly-informative general sessions, world-class speakers and presenters on key topics in today's changing travel industry, prominent industry panels, intensive breakout groups, and invaluable networking opportunities.

About CalTravel

The California Travel Association (CalTravel) is the unified voice for the California travel industry's political concerns. By advocating directly to the state legislature, the Governor's office, local and federal officials, businesses, and the public, CalTravel addresses issues that affect the state's tourism industry. CalTravel also aggressively seeks to ensure continued funding for Visit California.

SOURCE California Travel Association