Grassroots Summit officials visit Las Vegas

International Grassroots Summit officials Toru Takahashi, President and Yoshiko Kobayashi, Executive Director made a special visit to Las Vegas on Sunday Dec 3, 2006 as part of a multi-city promotional tour including New York, Washington D.C., Chicago, and Denver.  “This is the first time that the Grassroots Summit has ever visited Las Vegas, and I think that they were pleasantly surprised by the high level of interest in the summit in our community.” noted MWT president Ryan Olsen, who was hosting Takahashi and Kobayashi on their visit to Las Vegas.  In addition to the long-running Grassroots Summit, the visitors from Japan were also promoting the In Harmony International Children’s Music Festival, a rapidly growing international event that has sprung from the Grassroots Summit.  Now in its seventeenth year, The International Grassroots Summit is a non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion of intercultural exchange between the Untied States and Japan.  The 2007 summit will be held from June 5th through 13th in Japan’s Ishikawa Prefecture in the historic Noto Peninsula.  The 2007 In Harmony children’s music festival will be held following the Grassroots summit from June 12th through 19th in Yamagata, Japan.  For more information on either of these events contact us at MWT Events.

“You’ve Seen the Films, Now Visit the Set.”

The United States Department of Commerce has announced an exciting new summer campaign to build Japanese tourism called “ano eiga no butai ni, youkoso.” or “You’ve Seen the Films, Now Visit the Set.” This new campaign encourages Japanese film fans to plan their next vacation around sites from film classics such as “North by Northwest” and “Forest Gump”. Mountain West Travel (MWT) is excited for this opportunity to bring new attention to the many sites and wonders of the Mountain West region that so many classic movies have called home. Additionally, MWT is continuing to expand our film services offerings, continuing to bring images of the Mountain West to Japanese consumers through our participation in Japanese Television offerings such as “Tabisalad.”

As the premier tour operator for Southern Utah, Arizona, Nevada, and Colorado, our guides have walked in the footsteps of many of Hollywood’s greats, and are excited to share these sites with guests familiar with the new “Now Visit the Set” campaign. Notable stops on MWT tours included in the campaign include Monument Valley Tribal Park, The Grand Canyon, and Las Vegas, Nevada. Our tours will continue to introduce Japanese guests to classic locations such as these, in addition to fabulous lesser known treasures.

Coinciding with the new “You’ve Seen the Films, Now Visit the Set.” campaign, MWT was also pleased to have our tour products featured in yet another Japanese television show this year. The June edition of the Japanese travel show “Good Morning it's a Fresh Travel Salad.” Or “Tabisalad”, hosted by Tanaka Minako, featured footage of several members of our MWT staff, including notable appearances by Japanese-speaking-guide Chris Stewart introducing Ms. Tanaka to the Grand Canyon. Additionally MWT was pleased to serve as a key player in the filming itself, providing key logistical and coordinating services, to be sure the filming went smoothly. We look forward to continuing to expand our participation in similar ventures in the future.

To book tour services to any of the locations featured in "You’ve Seen the Films, Now Visit the Set”, or “Tabisalad”, contact us, or better yet go online and book a tour on our easy new online booking system.