Welcome to the December edition of the Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority’s South Shore Bulletin. This newsletter highlights tourism trends, strategies, initiatives, and programs that increase visitor awareness, support our community and environment, and strengthen our economy.

Sales Update

Juraj Sojka, LTVA Director of Tourism (left) with Marlon Beauperthuy (right) from Le Beau Rizen BV, Netherlands

LTVA staff attended sales missions throughout November, holding one-on-one appointments with key tourism contacts and meeting planners, showcasing our region’s unique offerings and discussing further product developments:

Juraj Sojka, Director of Tourism, joined Brand USA Travel Week and conducted 42 appointments with tour operators from the U.K., Ireland, Germany, France, Italy, and Spain. He also participated in the Brand USA Nordic Roadshow in Sweden, Norway, and Finland.
Stuart Maas, Senior Director of Marketing and Business Development, participated in the Visit California, Taste of California Roadshow, which targeted meeting planners key markets: Minneapolis and Chicago. The events drew 42 and 48 guests, respectively.
Cameron Wiebe, Group Sales & Services Manager, attended Connect West at UCLA and Connect Winter Marketplace in Washington, DC. He met with 25 and 32 meeting planners, respectively.

Marketing Update: Winter Creative

Two sample ads from the winter creative; these are for the family audience segment

Winter creative has launched, and you can view current paid advertising on Meta here. We are maintaining focus on six key audience segments and testing new single-image ads. We are also testing performance on short-form video advertisements and preparing for the next Rules to Lake By development and rollout. Keep an eye on our homepage as we’ll be launching a full refresh later this month, increasing accessibility and staying on top of the latest trends to grow engagement and give visitors the best experience while exploring all that our region has to offer. We are also launching a new year-round event promotion strategy, Altitude & Awe, to highlight events that drive overnight stays.

Local Updates

Heavenly Holidays Family Festival has scheduled events through December 31, including a daily tree lighting, ice sculptures, breakfast with Santa, and much more.
The Festival of Winter Lights is this weekend, featuring the first ever Lake Tahoe Gingerbread Competition. The gingerbread creations will be displayed around town following the event, with the winner at the Explore Tahoe center. Check out the map here.
There are a number of New Year’s Eve celebrations, learn more here.

Industry Insights

South Shore in the Media

The following earned media was published this past month:

Florida Country Magazine publishes Tahoe Calling.
Visit California features South Shore in its roadtrip alternatives writeup.
Erin & Steven Berrebi visited and posted a series of stories and reels, now highlighted in their profile.
@EazyNazy and her family also visited, producing content that promoted fall visitation.

The South Shore Bulletin is brought to you by the Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority, powered by the South Lake Tahoe Tourism Improvement District
and the Tahoe Douglas Visitors Authority.