California Tourism launched user-generated online content Sept. 15 through a program called California Fives. The program offers California-specific topics that are grouped in fives. Themes can be as broad as California’s five best beaches or five best ski runs, or as narrow as the five preferred wines in Sonoma County or Temecula. Visitors to the site also have the opportunity to rank someone else’s California Fives (giving it the appropriate number of stars), or provide their own twist on a subject. California Fives are free and easy to post via the submission tool at www.californiafives.com.  The goal of the program, an extension of the www.visitcalifornia.com  website’s Inside Scoop campaign, is to create an online community of ambassadors willing to connect and promote their opinions and insider information about California. California Fives also aims to increase incremental travel through the state, generating repeat visits by giving primary market consumers who are already familiar with California new reasons to immerse themselves more deeply in the state, while inspiring new visitors in national markets to engage in the California brand and product.

California Fives is being promoted in print and online advertising campaigns in the United States and Canada, as well as through social media. It will also be leveraged in the state’s print brand advertising inserts that feature True Californians, like Jim Moriarty, Beth Rodden and Charles Phan, along with an invitation to view their California Fives online. Phase Two of this marketing initiative includes launching in key international markets where CTTC has marketing offices, including the United Kingdom, which is the No. 1 source of overseas visitors to California.

Also making its debut on the CTTC’s website is an enhanced, interactive program called My Trip. Located at the top of every web page, My Trip gives travelers the opportunity to create and save a tailored list of all the places and things they might want to experience during their California visit in a “travel suitcase.” With a few clicks, consumers can save their preferred accommodations, special events, inside scoops, must-sees or ideas for multi-day trip itineraries. Users can also share their “suitcase” via email with friends and family, while continuing to add to this personalized wish list from any computer. They can also download the My Trip list to their desktop and print it out. For California Fives, visit www.californiafives.com.  For general information, call 877-225-4367 or visit www.visitcalifornia.com.