How do you make Tibet a tourist destination?
(Bear with me. This does actually have to do with CAD...)
Tibet's landlocked bone chilling heights preclude sandy beaches. It may be totally bereft of 5 star hotels. It may lack any cuisine that does not list yak as an ingredient. Its most famous citizen, the Dalai Lama, left quite some time ago. But Tibet has been mentioned in every travel magazine of note. All of them wax poetic about the recently completed "world's highest railroad." (Though I don't recall anyone mentioning what to do once you get there).
How on earth do you get all these travel writers and editors to not only agree that such an inhospitable country is indeed worthy of a visit, but also recommend it to their readers? I'm not sure what the Chinese government did, but cynical old me suspects they invited the press and paid all expenses-- a free vacation, in effect. This is quite common in the travel industry. You may also heard about it in the movie business. And it appears the CAD business has been paying attention...
I write this on my way to New Orleans to cover the SolidWorks annual user meeting. In what may be a high water mark, SolidWorks is paying for more than 120 of us journalists, analysts. bloggers, etc. to attend. at SolidWorks World 2007. SolidWorks is not alone. PTC sponsored a press event recently at its headquarters near Boston, attended by about 80. Autodesk is holding a press conference in San Francisco next week.
You can be sure to be reading a lot of PTC, SolidWorks and Autodesk related articles in the months to follow.
SolidWorks did not pay the expenses for every member of the press attending, or, in fact, for all of the bloggers according to what was said by a few of them. However, even press attending at their own cost were well received and elegantly hosted by the SolidWorks crew.
The proof of the pudding though, is in the eating - and the way SolidWorks 2008 was eaten up is indicative of a great event. Congrats to SolidWorks on a great show.
Posted by: Rachael Taggart | February 07, 2007 at 12:37 PM
"High water mark.."
"...New Orleans..."
Pun alert!
Posted by: ralphg | February 06, 2007 at 06:06 AM
"High water mark.."
"...New Orleans..."
Pun alert!
Posted by: ralphg | February 06, 2007 at 06:06 AM