Host Welcome: Ontario International Airport
Atif Elkadi has more than 17 years of extensive senior-level experience in all aspects of airport operations, strategic marketing, social media, brand management, public relations, marketing, advertising, and strategic communications.
Transcript
Atif Elkadi:Welcome to Ontario. It is a pleasure to have you all here and for all of you to be here in person. As you can tell, we're proud of our airport and proud of our community, and we are delighted that CAPA has chosen us to host this 2023 CAPA Americas Conference. Thank you for being here. One point of order for today, it is The National Administrative Assistant Appreciation Day. So if you haven't, reach out to them and thank them. I know we have a number of ours here. Thank you guys for all that you do. Let's please give them a round of applause. When you have millennials, they remind you all of these important things that work for you, so it's great. You might or might not be aware, but you're really sitting in the heart of one of the most dynamic economic employment and population centers in the United States. The Inland Empire is now the 12th largest metropolitan area in the country, recently surpassing the San Francisco Bay Area. Today, 10 million Southern Californians live or work closer to Ontario than any other airport in Southern California, and the Inland Empire alone is expecting another 1 million residents in the next 25 years. We're 20 minutes away from the mountains an hour to the beach, and home to some of the most popular destinations in the state. Little fun fact, Ontario Mills Mall, which is just down the street, receives more visitors a year than Disneyland. I was shocked when I learned that when I moved here as well, but my wife has proved that to be true. Lots of shopping to happen there. So our community and our region are also great places to do business. A global supply chain hub, a place where innovation rules, and opportunity abounds. Among the major corporations and institutions right here in our backyard, Esri, the global leader in GIS mapping software, the world-famous Loma Linda University and Medical Center, the Claremont Colleges, UC Riverside, Cal State San Bernardino, Kelly Space and Technology, Yamava Resort and Casino, California Steel Industries, and so many more. Our region's logistics and supply chain industry alone employs more than 200,000 people, And Ontario itself ranks among the top 10 cargo airports in North America. And this became absolutely true and prevalent during the pandemic. We were a center for the supply chain hub for the western part of the United States. We're also one of the fastest-growing passenger airports in the country, with a projected annual capacity of 30 million passengers, 5 times what our current level is, with plans for a new international terminal and the development of some of the most innovative, state-of-the-art, zero-emission transit technology right here in our own community. Ontario International plays a pivotal role in the future of this dynamic region we so proudly serve. According to a study last year by Oxford Economics, Ontario International contributes $3.8 billion per year to the regional economy while supporting nearly 28,000 jobs. One of the things that we say here in Southern California, being in the heart of the Inland Empire, there is room for growth for all of us. It is such a huge area that, that is why there are multiple airports in our region, and there's room for growth for everybody. It does not have to be an either/or. It can be all of us together growing and connecting the world to Southern California. Again, we are proud of our success and thrilled to be able to share our story with you. I truly would like to thank CAPA for choosing us to host this conference. Again, I want to thank our incredible staff who have done a phenomenal job of bringing this together. for their hard work in making this come to life. Please give them a round of applause. So one of the things you never want to hear me sing or play guitar, so that's not why this is here. So I want to remind you of a phenomenal raffle prize that we have. It is the Santo Tequila signed Sammy Hagar guitar. So for those of you who don't know, Sammy is one of the Inland Empire's very own. and he's a valued partner at Ontario International. You can actually hear Sammy greeting passengers in our baggage claim area every day in both our terminals. So you have to be present to win tonight. Bring your business cards to our evening event, which is going to be phenomenal in our National Guard hangar with some amazing views, for your chance to win this guitar. And I am sure that RTSA will let you carry it through. That will not be a problem, so don't worry about that. Again, thank you for joining us. Please enjoy the conference and let us show you how we make SoCal so easy. Have a great conference.
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