EXPLORING NEW PASTURES

Fort Lauderdale:

Right at the entrance of this big complex, I feel there should be a signboard: "Win a prize if you come out buying nothing!"

Not for nothing is the Sawgrass Mills one of the top shopping destinations in South Florida, for the travelers and buoyant shoppers seeking exquisite things at one stop.

Last Saturday, I drove down to this complex, so vast in its expanse that you will stand the chance of losing your way out unless you consciously mark the signs up. I entered with a resolve not to spend a single dime; came out spending seventy bucks!

And I understand that the downturn has had an adverse impact on sales here too! Can't believe that! For if this is what they call a negative impact, what did I see there then! If I'm not wrong, I saw a shopping frenzy. And gee, that's still not the best, they say. Wow! I mean, you can see what buying means at Sawgrass!

If you are a shopping buzz, particularly a window shopper, check out the Sawgrass Mills website and you'll have your answers!

There was much to learn there: American Consumerism, for sure!

Next stop the same evening was Hollywood Beach Broadwalk, a few miles south of Fort Lauderdale. This was cool and soothing.

If you love ocean and beaches, this is the place to be in for Sunset. There are nice little coffee shops where you can sit hours reading books and enjoying breeze. The weekends also see some local bands playing their numbers for you, if you will!

I drove down to Miami last Monday to attend the International Pow-Wow, an event of the scale I'd never seen before.

Pow Wow is a native American synonym for spiritual gathering. Americans use it for consumer gatherings like these too. That's evolution for you!

You never know, you may have Pow Wow replaced by 'Vipashana' in the future if that concept flows out here and sells like a good brand!

The American Travel Association organizes it every year at different locations to showcase the country's travel spots and do business.

This year, obviously, there was a marked difference, in that the buyers, who are the wholesale travel operators and companies, were aggressive in bargaining while the sellers were trying to put their best foot forward to woo the buyers.

The US doesn't have a separate ministry or department for tourism. Each city or destination has its own department to sell its brand, or spots, to the potential tourists, giving the best value they can on each dollar committed.

2009 Pow Wow did a business of $4bn (roughly Rs 2000 crore) in two days. I did a lot of scanning, and collected info that could be useful in the future.

Apart from the expensive stuff, there are lots of destinations in the US that are offbeat and not so expensive, I learnt.

But tourism business is in for a major change. What's more sports tourism is on the rise. Sounds bizarre, but Golf Tourism is one of the big drivers in the segment.

A lot of Europeans travel to the US to play golf! So many of the big hotel chains are now buying lands or developing golf courses to enter that segment of the business. I met a buyer from the US who brings about 10,000 Europeans on his tour-packages only to play golf! That's a lot of business. He's developing a micro-website that would put on display for the potential tourists places they could visit while enjoying playing golf alongside. Matter of status!

It's very difficult to play golf in Europe: very expensive and a status symbol. So common people don't get to play the game since most clubs and golf courses are beyond their means. So they travel to the US on vacations and play golf! It's cheaper and easier. It's a business worth millions and millions of dollars!

Guess, our IPL is heading the same path! More money for Maratha Strongman!

Thursday, I went on a tour of a facility owned by Florida Crystals, one of the most powerful corporates in the US that controls half of the sugar trade here.

As we drove close to their ba-gas power plant in Okeelanta, an hour's drive from Fort Lauderdale, we could see only acres and acres of green sugar fields.

The company owns - hold your breath - 155,000 acres of land here and that's just one of their facilities. That was my first major tryst with agriculture in the US, and what shape it's taking with new policy shifts that are on the anvil in energy sector.

Meanwhile, in the newsroom, I could see the production process for my first story: A lot of planning goes into the process. I attended a meeting of respective section heads who finalize how a story needs to be presented in the newspaper. I was amazed by their close eye for minutest detail: color tone for photos, caption styles etc!

I am reading lots of new issues, meeting new people and heading on...

Coming weekend is longish: Three days. Monday, the US observes the Memorial Day, to honor and remember their war dead. Back in office on Tuesday.

I will in the mean time continue treading on some new roads in this distant land!