By Laura Del Rosso
NAPA, Calif. -- CityPass has developed a new regional pass to
southern California theme parks that will include Disneyland -- but
exclude agents' commission.
CityPass, a firm that bundles attraction tickets for several
major U.S. cities and sells them in booklets, offers most of its
products to agents on a commissionable basis, with reporting via
ARC.
The new Southern California pass, however, will not be
commissionable and will only be available at the attractions
(beginning Jan. 8) or bundled in international tour packages for
the inbound market.
The pass, unveiled to international tour operators at the Pow
Wow trade show earlier this year, marks the first time that
Disneyland has agreed to be included in a pass program arranged by
an outside vendor.
"This takes us into a different league, with having Disney and
these attractions that cover an entire region in one pass," said
CityPass president Mike Gallagher.
A Disney spokesman said the prime motivation for Disney's
involvement with the CityPass is to boost the international market,
which is in a slump. The company may "explore" whether to expand
CityPass sales to domestic travel agents and operators, based on
the results of international sales, he said.
"That's the market that needs the biggest bump," he said. "The
greatest opportunity was to grow that market. Also, with the
domestic market, we just don't see the length of stay" that is
required to use the pass.
He noted that the Walt Disney Travel Co. bundles admission to
Disney theme parks, the Universal Studios park and other southern
California attractions as part of its packages, an opportunity for
travel agents to sell a commissionable product pre-arrival.
Other than to international wholesalers and at the Disney parks'
admission gates, the Southern California CityPass will be sold by
some local hotels "only on a post arrival basis," the Disney
spokesman said.
The Southern California CityPass will feature admission to major
attractions in Orange County and San Diego: Disneyland, Disney's
California Adventure, Knott's Berry Farm, SeaWorld and the San
Diego Zoo.
CityPass admission to Disneyland and California Adventure is a
three-day Park Hopper ticket. All other tickets are for one-day
admission.
The pass will sell for $166 for adults and $127 for children
ages 3 through 9. It will be valid for 14 days from the first date
of use.
The prices represent a savings of 30% off standard admission,
Gallagher said.
Adult admission to the attractions, if bought separately, would
cost $238.
CityPass, launched in 1997, offers similar programs for San
Francisco, Seattle, New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago and
Hollywood.
Agents can still buy these CityPass products online at www.citypass.com and
record the transactions through ARC, deducting commissions in
advance.