State Tourism Chief to Speak at Luncheon

A state official is hoping tourists don’t take a recent film to heart and spend just “2 Days in the Valley.”

John Poimiroo, director of the California Division of Tourism, will address Valley tourism at a luncheon discussion Tuesday in North Hollywood.

The event is sponsored by the San Fernando Valley Convention and Visitors Bureau.

“People are staying on the other side of the hill,” said Joan McClellan, executive director of the bureau. “They may be coming to Universal [Studios], but they’re staying on the Westside.”

McClellan said Poimiroo will not present a sugarcoated view of Valley tourism. “I’m not sure he’ll be talking about the cure,” she said. “He might be talking about the bitter pill.”

One possible cure would be a more comprehensive promotional effort, McClellan said.

“I think the Valley needs to wake up and say, ‘Hey, we have something here,’ ” she said. “The squeaky wheel gets the oil, and right now the Valley wheel has cobwebs on it.”

The audience will include restaurateurs, hoteliers, travel agents and Burbank Airport employees.

In addition to remarks by Poimiroo, who is also deputy secretary of the California Trade and Commerce Agency, there will be a demonstration of the bureau’s new World Wide Web site.

Poimiroo’s talk is scheduled for noon at Beverly Garland’s Holiday Inn, 4222 Vineland Ave. Registration will begin at 11:30 a.m. Tickets are $15 for bureau members and $25 for nonmembers.

For more information, call (818) 766-7572.