(1) The  The Santa Monica Convention & Visitors Bureau welcomed more than 2,000 Australian tourists  at the Santa Monica Pier on Friday night, April 16, 2010. The tourists were employees from Clipsal, an Australian-based electrical company that chose Santa Monica as the location to celebrate their company’s 90th anniversary. (2) Jala and Peno welcome the Australian tourists at the Santa Monica Pier. (3)  Ventriloquist David Markham and his partner Squeaky Kelly entertained the Australian tourists.

“We have chosen Santa Monica simply because it is an ideal spot in America for our group. We are attracted to the color and vibrancy of this seaside locale as well as the friendliness of the locals, said Angelo Russo, Customer Relations Manager, Clipsal Australia.

Having this group in Santa Monica generated over 2,000 room nights to nine different Santa Monica hotels for the night of April 16th. In addition, Clipsal bought out the entire Pacific Park amusement park on the Santa Monica Pier for a beachfront anniversary party. The Clipsal visit also drove business to local restaurants such as Ye Olde King’s Head, Cabo Cantina and Yankee Doodle’s.

“Our fanny packs are full of greenbacks and we’re not afraid to use them", said Angelo upon his group's arrival into Santa Monica.

Australia is a key market for Santa Monica Convention & Visitors Bureau (SMCVB) as it strives to develop international long haul visitation. International visitors are important to the Santa Monica economy because they tend to stay longer in the hotels, spend more money in restaurants and retail outlets and avoid bringing car traffic into the city. SMCVB has been actively pursuing tourism from Australia through media relations and sales initiatives, and is thrilled to see group corporate business out of this market.

The Clipsal Santa Monica visit precedes a nine-day cruise on the Mexican Riviera for all 2,200 Clipsal employees. It is the biggest celebration of the Clipsal brand in the company’s history and it all started in Santa Monica.