LBPOST.com: CNN: A New Year For Long Beach's Gondola Getaway

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CNN: A New Year For Long Beach's Gondola Getaway

by Ryan ZumMallen | Long Beach News | 12.29.09 |

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CNN takes notice of Long Beach�s famous Gondola Getaway, a wildly popular gondola cruise business serving locals and tourists with a unique view of the canals and waterways of Naples Island.�

According to the interview with Gondola Getaway owner Mike O'Toole, business was down 20% in 2008 and 2009 but through research and a little marketing, O�Toole seems to be charting a new course for the New Year.

CNN reports: In Southern California, American gondolier Michael O'Toole is steering his fleet through the recession. O'Toole's specialty romance business sells cruises along the waterways and canals of Naples Island, near Long Beach. This past year has been among the hardest the 27-year-old business has faced.�

"We used to be booked up two to three weeks in advance. It changed to last minute reservations," O'Toole says. "All of a sudden, the tour groups weren't as plentiful."

"I'm thinking it's not so much that the economy's gotten better," O'Toole says, "but I'm marketing better, and will be stronger forevermore."�

Click here to read the article.

Watch the CNN interview below.

Comments

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Bianca & Peter
There is nothing like floating around our city's canals on a gondola, eating bread and cheese and being serenaded. I love our Long Beach and Michael O'Toole's vision adds yet another layer of fabulous to it. Thank you Michael, for hanging in there. I'll link you to our site! Much prosperity to you in 2010.

Beadles
Belmont Shore is The Shore with you in it. The canals of Naples hear your voice and your Gondolas within their waters. I love the experience, love the Gondolas, love the Bay and love Naples!! This is a destination spot for everyone in love and for 28 years watching those Gondolas - it truly is spectacular!!

Key Lime Mom
Fantastic! Thank you so much for sharing this about the Gondola Getaway...nice to see the good guys represented on national air time!

Belmont Bob
Gondola Getaway is an special asset to the Naples area. The gondola tours of the area are a treat no one should miss, but even if you are not on a gondola at a given time in Naples, just watching them quietly glide through the canals is an incredible treat, and the singing gondoliers are the iceing on the cake. Mike, keep up the romanticizing of our community. You and the gondolas are an important part of what makes this area special.

Sleuth
We lived in Belmont Shore in late 60s and early 70s and loved it. The Christmas boat parade was always awesome. Gondolas would have been great then too.

Disgusted
Mike had offered to take my class on a tour of his business in 2006. Unfortunately, he was informed at that time that I had been defrauded and extorted. Because he did not believe it, Mike cut off contact with me. It would have been a simple matter for him to look at the court documents or the written threats against me and my son, who at the time was an infant. "Good guys" don't kick crime victims when they are down.

Long Beach News

LBPOST.com Managing Editor Ryan ZumMallen keeps up on all the current and breaking Long Beach news.

Ryan ZumMallen is a graduate of the CSULB School of Journalism, writing for the campus' Union Weekly newspaper and serving as Sports Editor for one year. He has written for numerous news and sports websites and magazines, as well as television experience with Fox Sports and ABC Channel 7.